Forget the Past
by Death to Barbie 0206
Summary: If there is one lesson that Percy Jackson needs to learn, it is that your past does not define you. And if there was a second one, it would be that shutting people out does more damage than any person could. Foster home AU, mortal AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! So I currently don't want to write the next chapter for this story, so I rewrote the first one. Hehe. Hehe. So...enjoy?**

 **I kidnapped Percy to be my Disclaimer minion. Do it Percy.**

 **Percy: Do I have to?**

 **Me: Yes you do, get to it now**

 **Percy: *sighs loudly* Fine, Sophie does not own PJO. Or this piece of awesomeness right here. *gestures to self***

Annabeth POV

"Annie!" Thalia yelled up the stairs. I groaned and buried my head in the pillow. I'm Annabeth Chase, and I live in a foster home. Piper McLean's mom and dad, Tristan and Aphrodite McLean, run it, and they have six kids in total, including their own, Piper, who apparently 'hates' fashion but still has several piles of fashion magazines in her desk drawers. We have Leo Valdez, who's a total pyro, Jason Grace, Thalia's younger brother, Thalia, who has this weird obsession with Barbie guillotines, Nico di Angelo, who's a total emo and likes to hide in his room blasting heavy metal, and me.

"Get up!" Thalia yelled, barging into my room. I groaned again and pulled my pillow over my head. "Go 'way Thals. Still tired."

"Annie! Did you forget already? We're getting a new kid today! Come on, do NOT tell me you forgot or major asskickery will commmence in your room." Thalia said, picking up the book I had started last night. "To Kill a Mockingbird?"

"Yes, there will be major asskickery. I will be kicking your ass out of my room. Get. Out. Still. Tired. Want. Sleep. Wait...did you say new kid?" I blinked. We hadn't gotten anyone new since...Leo, two years ago. I had assumed Mom was done.

Thalia grinned. "Yup! And Mom's making pancakes, so hurry UP or else I will eat your share and then the new kid's share just for good measure. Get. Up. Now. Or. Else. I. Will. Get. The. Chainsaw."

I was out of bed in a flash. "Not the chainsaw, Thalia. Remember what happened last time?" Vivid memories flashed through my head and I shuddered. "That must never happen again."

"It will happen again if you don't get your sorry butt down the stairs and into the seat. And there will be no pancakes. Or cookies. Do you want your cookies? No. There will be no BACON." Thalia threatened. I gasped.

"No! Not the bacon! I will do what you ask of me, O Great and Mighty Thalia. Just GIVE ME MY BACON!" I yelled, sliding down the banister and landing on my feet at the bottom. "I need my BACON! Must have BACON!"

"Calm down Annie," Piper yawned, emerging from her room with her brown hair disheveled but still perfect-looking. How she does it is a mystery to me, but I don't care. "Mom's making bacon. Just don't eat it all or else I will hire Thalia."

"I'm not for hire!" Thalia huffed, coming down the stairs after me. "Unless you pay me in bacon?"

"Who's paying what now in what?" Jason muttered sleepily, coming out of his room and rubbing his eyes. "And...did someone say bacon?"

"Ooh, bacon? Where?" Leo asked, his head popping out from behind his door. "I want it!"

"You guys are losers," Nico called from the kitchen door. "The bacon is mine!"

" _MY BACON!"_ I yelled, sprinting towards the kitchen with Jason and Leo on my tail. Piper and Thalia were right behind us. I snatched the platter of bacon that was ready and stuffed a piece into my mouth. "Ba. Con."

Aphrodite came out from behind the stove with another tray of bacon and a plate of pancakes. "Don't eat it all now. We still need some for our new kid, okay?"

Thalia shrugged, taking a handful of bacon and stuffing it into her mouth. "I make no promises. Especially when it comes to bacon."

"Neither do I," I mumbled through a mouthful of bacon. "My. Ba. Con."

Aphrodite sighed and rolled her eyes, somehow still managing to look pretty. Leo took a pancake and took a bite. Piper came in too, rubbing her eyes, and picked up a piece of bacon, stuffing it into her mouth. I growled and scooped a giant pile of bacon towards me. "MINE."

Aphrodite sighed again. "Dad's gone to pick him up, and I need you all to be nice, okay? No fighting. He's...been through a lot, so don't push him, got it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Mom." Aphrodite had said the same thing when getting Thalia and Jason, and Thalia and Jason had ended up starting all of the fights. Well, mostly Thalia. Jason had tried to break them up. Most of them.

I ate half the plate of bacon until my bacon cravings were finally satisfied and bounded upstairs, throwing my closet door open and ignoring the weird-looking sundress Mom had forced me to buy and wear for that one weird outing to the beach. The memory still gave me goosebumps.

I changed into shorts and a T-shirt and brushed my teeth. I was just getting started on brushing my hair when the front door opened. I raced downstairs, the brush still stuck in my tangled blond curls, and Dad entered with a small duffel bag.

"That...that's it?" Piper looked like she was ready to go into anaphylactic shock. "Thta's _all_? Who-who could live with so little clothes?"

"A homeless person," Jason smirked. "Or, I don't know, me."

"Why do I date you?" Piper rolled her eyes, letting go of Jason's hand

Dad went upstairs, dropping the bag in front of the door to the guest room next to mine. Hm. Looked like the new kid was going to live next to me. Couldn't have an opinion yet; I haven't even met the kid.

We all rushed outside. Leo's hands were dirty, probably from his latest 'project', Piper had somehow managed to get changed and her hair brushed and her teeth brushed and her small amount of makeup on in the time it took me to satisfy my bacon cravings and change, Thalia was wearing her pajama pants and a regular black shirt, Jason hadn't even started to change, and Nico was looking all depressed and emo-y and stuff like always. And of course, he had an earbud dangling in his right ear.

The car door opened and a kid my age, sixteen, climbed out. His raven hair was messy as hell, and his eyes stayed on the cement so I couldn't make out their color. He had a huge baggy hoodie on, with his hands shoved in his pockets.

All in all, he looked like the shy kid in the back of the class whose name nobody knows. I've never really liked those kinds of people. But I guess since I was living with him, I'd have to make an effort.

Percy POV

I stared down at the floor, repeating four words in my head. _I do not exist. I do not exist. I do not exist. I do not exist._

Finally, a girl with blonde princess curls spoke up. "Hi, I'm Annabeth Chase."

 _Did she want me to talk? Was she talking to me? I think she was. Oh crap, if I respond now it'll seem weird. Why am I wasting time overthinking this? Crap crap crap, they probably think I'm so weird._

"Um..." the same girl - Annabeth, wasn't it? - muttered. "Can you talk?"

 _Crap is she talking to me? Crap crap crap._

On the outside, I mumbled something like, "Mmsshfg."

"Well this is awkward," a curly-haired Latino boy grinned. "I'm Leo. You?"

"M-me?" I stammered. _Well duh of course it's you he knows everybody here already except for you get your act together Percy._ "Oh, I'm - uh, I'm Percy."

"Why is he so quiet?" a blonde guy murmured to a girl with choppy brown hair and color-changing eyes.

Pretending I didn't hear that, I shuffled my feet a bit and kept staring down at my worn sneakers. There was a hole in the toe of my right one. That's not good.

"So...uh..." A girl with a punk-looking haircut and electric blue eyes trailed off awkwardly. "I'm Thalia."

"Per -" I cut myself off. _Crap I've already told them my name. Why am I doing it again?_

The Latino guy - Leo - stifled a snort. The girl with choppy brown hair whacked his arm. "Shut up, Leo."

A small smile stole over my face, watching them. They seemed nice, but I knew I'd eventually be kicked out. Not many families liked the kid who says about five words a day, never comes out of his room because stupid panic attacks will make him look like a complete weirdo, and who's basically a lonely hermit.

In case you didn't get it, that kid is me.

"So, uh, my dad put your bag next to my room," Annabeth said, coming a step closer. I instinctively stepped back, keeping as much distance as possible between me and her. A confused and slightly hurt expression crossed her face. _Crap Percy why do you always mess everything up?_

"Want me to show you the guest room? Uh, I mean your room," Annabeth corrected quickly. Her gray eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn't quite place, something between impatience and curiosity and...something else.

I shrugged slightly, which Annabeth took as a yes. She reached out for my arm and I flinched away again. For the second time. _Godsdammit Percy get your act together what are you doing._

Gray eyes narrowed and Annabeth stepped back as well. A breath I didn't know I was holding whooshed out and I relaxed slightly. Hopefully not too noticeably, though.

"Okay, just follow me then," Annabeth said, confusion lacing her tone. The blonde guy leaned over to whisper in the punk girl - Thalia - "This is so weird. Why doesn't he talk?"

I swallowed and tried to ignore the whisper, but I knew that every time someone asked that question and the parents thought, 'Oh, he's just too hard to open up,' and sent me right back to Social Services.

And of course, it would happen again.

"Come on," Annabeth called impatiently. She was standing near the front door, which was open. I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets and carefully followed her, keeping my head down and hoping that the lady near the steps didn't notice me.

"Hello, Perseus," the lady said warmly. _Crap._

"Uh, it - it's Percy," I mumbled, nearly inaudibly. Her eyebrows drew together, but she let me be and stepped out of my way. Thank the gods.

"So, your room should be up here," Annabeth continued. "Right next to mine, so hopefully you don't mind if I get up at midnight to blast heavy metal.

That startled a laugh out of me and Annabeth grinned, pleased with my reaction. "I'll take that as a no. Anyways, the kitchen's down there, just go down the hall, down the stairs, then turn right and it's there. Our house is pretty big, so you've got a bathroom adjoined to your room and a walk-in closet. I'll go finish up my hair now." She frowned and tugged on the plastic hairbrush still stuck in her curls.

I bit back another laugh and stepped into the room, scooping up my small bag along with me and closing the door gently. _Crap I did terrible out there and here I was promising myself that I'd actually stay with a family for once._

 _Oh well. Maybe the next one will be better._

Annabeth POV

Five minutes after I showed the new person -Percy, wasn't it? - his room, and managed to untangle the hairbrush from my curls, Mom knocked on my door. I opened it, running the brush through my now-untangled curls. "Hey."

"Annabeth, I just want to say that you cannot blast heavy metal in your room at midnight. That's Nico's job, and he does it well. Also, thanks for not whispering about Persrus behind his back like a certain person named Jason Grace. I'm not pointing any fingers, but thank you for being a better child than some people I could mention, like, oh, I don't know, Leo."

"Uh...no prob?" The end of my sentence rose up like a question, because I had no idea what she was talking about.

Mom sighed. "Your dad, to be honest, wanted to adopt a different kid, one named Luke or something. He seemed better, easier to adapt into our family. Perseus has a history, you know. He's been convicted of carrying drugs and he's had barely any formal schooling." She paused, and I considered the 'criminal record' Percy with the shy, probably abused kid I had just seen.

"The police did later find out that his stepfather, Gabriel Ugliano, was the one forcing him to deal with drug traders for him, and was the one who pulled him out of school and murdered his mother. They arrested him when Perseus was thirteen, although Perseus had run away long before that, when he was only nine. Social Services found him on the side of the road when he was fourteen, and dropped him into seven different foster homes. We're his eighth. So...well, I guess I had to let you know that he's not quite like everybody else here." My brows drew together.

"That's...a lot of stuff to happen to one kid," I willed my voice not to crack. "But, uh, what about his real dad?"

"Oh, him. Well, actually, his real father is my cousin. Poseidon Olympian. He disowned Perseus when he was three or four, for reasons he 'didn't care to reveal to us commoners.'" At the end, Mom's voice became singsongy, as if she was repeating something someone else had said.

All I could say was, "Wow."

 **Hehe. Yeah, I rewrote the first chapter. I looked up child abuse and researched victims, and I thought that the harsh and bold character I wrote Percy as didn't quite fit. So I changed him up quite a lot, and PERCABETH will start earlier. Yay!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm rewriting the first chapters! Because, well, they were terrible. Let's face it.**

 **Disclaimer: IIIIIIIIIIIIIII'MMM GONNA SWIIIINNG FROM THE CHANDELIER-ER, FROM THE CHANDELIER-IER! Okay, I don't own Chandelier (Sia does) or PJO (Rick does)**

Jason POV (PERCABETH WILL HAPPEN BUT FAMILY WILL BE MORE OF THE MAIN FOCUS)

" _What_ were you _doing_ out there?" Piper hissed, driving her elbow into my ribs. I winced, pushing her away. "Dude! He wasn't saying anything and I was worried about his mental health and his tongue's health!"

"Shut up." Thalia ordered. "You, Jason Grace, are grounded."

"You can't do that!" I yelped. "You barely look any older than me! Actually, you look younger than me!"

"But I can punch you multiple times in a second, dumbass. Nice job completely humiliating the new kid out there, by the way. Love the way you did it. Subtle, refined. Such an art." Sarcasm practically dripped from Thalia's words.

"Well, I didn't force Mom to let me take martial arts for FIVE YEARS, THALIA," I shot back, glaring at her. "So please be quiet. Look, I'll go say sorry, if it makes you feel better." Also, I kind of did feel sorry about how loud I had whispered.

"See, that's all I wanted!" Piper beamed, brushing a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "So you go say sorry, and I'll film it and lost it on YouTube as 'Stupid blond kid completely messes up an apology and ends up getting punched in the face by his sister.'"

"I'm being harassed!" I mock-cried. "Someone, please help me! And seriously, Piper? Thalia, please. Don't punch me. No matter what Piper says. She's evil! Don't believe her! She's harnessing the forces of the Dark Dimension!"

 **Hehe reference anyone?**

"Stop whining and go say sorry already," Thalia rolled her eyes, pushing me out the door and shutting it behind me. "Do you think he'll actually do it?" That part was muffled by the door, and clearly meant for only Piper to hear. Piper muttered something I couldn't quite make out.

"I heard that!" I yelled, pounding on the door. Laughter exploded from behind the door. "Then - go - say sorry!" Thalia called, pausing in between words to laugh. I glared at the door and marched up the stairs, knocking lightly on the guest room beside Annabeth's.

There was the sound of rustling fabric and a drawer slamming shut and then the door opened, revealing Percy. His hoodie sleeves were lopsided and he was still looking down.

"Hey, uh, I'm Jason, and I'm sorry if I, y'know, offended you. With my whispering and stuff. I was curious. About you. Oh my gods, I can't talk today. So I just wanted to let you know I'm sorry, and that I'd really like things to not be awkward between us," I stammered. "Uh, I'm also sorry about my grammar. I don't English very well."

A small smile twisted Percy's lips upwards. "It's okay." His voice was really, really quiet, I noticed. Almost as if he didn't want to be noticed by anyone. And that pointed to signs of abuse, physically and probably mentally as well.

"So, uh, what's your favorite color?" The question was completely stupid and irrelevant, but it still fell from my lips. The smile dropped abruptly from Percy's face. "Hey, it's been great talking to you, but I...have to finish unpacking." And just like that, the door closed and I was left looking at solid wood and wondering where exactly had I gone wrong?

Percy POV

Blue. That was all I could see. It was the color of her eyes, of the food she made, of everything good and happy in life. Until it was torn away and blue represented evil, and cruelty, and sorrow.

Stop being so weak, I thought to myself, gritting my teeth against the tears. It doesn't matter anymore. She's gone. It's fine.

Tears sprang again, burning my eyes. I wiped them away furiously, the sleeve of my jacket sliding down as I did so and revealing the bandages. Glaring at the stark white, I pulled my sleeve up again, biting my lip until I tasted blood. Blood, like the blood that ran from her chest, my cuts -

I shut down that train of thought quickly, taking a quick look at the door and rustling a few things and then dropping a book with a thud. Maybe then the Jason guy would go away. I really wanted him to leave me alone right now, and also for this family to drop me right back into foster care. Only two more years and then I could leave forever and make a life for myself.

I shuddered slightly, my fingers unconsciously brushing the thick bandages under my hoodie sleeves. I might not even survive two years now at the rate this was going. Almost every night I had nightmares, and almost every time I stifled the screams with a knife.

Closing my eyes and leaning back against the wall, I clenched my hands into fists and let myself sit there for a second. _Focus on something else. Focus on now. Focus on the ceiling. Don't think about people. Think about something else._

My eyes opened again and I stared up at the ceiling, looking at the slightly faded green paint and the light set into the ceiling right in the middle. There were a few cracks near the right wall. My breathing had relaxed. I was fine again. If I just focused on something other than...everything, I could be fine. I could be okay. I could be normal.

 _But you're not normal you're a freak and no one will ever love you._

My nails dug into my palm. My muscles were tense. Getting up, I kept my eyes closed and rummaged through my bag, which I had left sitting open on my bed. If I opened my eyes, I would see her again, I would see him again, I would hear those words again.

 _'I don't want it.'_

It, not him. Not a boy. Not a human. An it.

Oh god, oh god. I tripped over the bed and landed on my back, the knife clutched tightly in my hands. My eyes were open and probably shining with tears, not filled with hatred the way _his_ had been. There was a huge lump of pain pressing painfully against my rib cage. Oh gods, how did I stop it?

Pulling my sleeve up and unwrapping the bandages, I dragged the knife across my skin, wincing a bit as the blade met a scab, probably from two days ago. Fresh pain ran through me and I sighed, slumping back down on the bed. The knife fell from my grasp, hitting the bedsheets.

 _Crap._ I bolted up, snatching the knife up and scanning the sheets carefully. No blood, thank goodness. Scarlet liquid ran along the edge of the silver blade, but none of it had leaked onto the sheets. Thank the gods. I carefully replaced the knife in my bag, burying it under a pile of hoodies and jeans.

A low breath whooshed out of me. The last foster home had been a close call; the daughter of the two foster parents had come to get me for dinner right in the middle of another atttack. I'd had to make about ten thousand cuts, but it was worth it to stand there and look normal.

But still not normal enough.

I gritted my teeth harder, refusing the tears that pricked my eyes. Gods. No wonder he'd turned away. Who would want someone who cried so _easily?_ Who would want someone so weak and stupid and unnatural and freaky?

And even after so many years I still couldn't change myself. I still hadn't gotten good enough.

Sometimes I wondered if I ever would.

Leo POV

The new kid reminded me eerily of myself, only he dealt with everything a lot differently than I did. Instead of a shield of humor, of happiness and sarcasm and a bright sparkle in your eyes that was actually really easily faked, he used walls, walls and masks and silence and retreating into his little shell.

I remembered when I was like that, right after my mother had died. A pang of sadness and grief and guilt still shuddered through me every time I thought of her, but it was okay. I'd learned to accept that she was dead, and maybe a little bit of it was my fault, but I couldn't be blamed for everything.

While I had been thinking, my hands had been tinkering around with the small, spare parts lying around in my desk. There was now a small square box in my palms. Bringing it closer to the light, I examined it, pressing this button and that button and then a little drawer popped open. I smiled. Somehow I could make this while completely preoccupied, and that made me extremely proud of myself.

Leaving the little box/drawer thing on a table, I left my room to get a glass of water or something. Annabeth was already in the kitchen, munching on a cookie and staring idly out the window with a look in her gray eyes that I recognized. That was her thinking look, the one that screamed, 'If-you-disturb-me-I-will-shave-your-eyebrows-off.' Not sure how that all conveyed in a look in someone's eyes, but it worked wonders.

I tiptoed past her, reaching up in the pantry to get the last bag of Fonzies. Oh, really? When had the supply gotten so low? I'd have to sneak onto Amazon later and buy another couple packages.

"Leo, does he seem weird to you?" The question came practically out of nowhere, and it took a second before I realized Annabeth was asking me about Percy. Right, right.

"Um. Um. Kinda sorta maybe?" My thoughts were kind of jumbled on this subject. Percy was quiet and shy and pretty different from how I had expected him to be (brash, bold, sarcastic, mouthy), but weird? No, not really, because I understood exactly how he felt and I knew almost everything he probably thought. "Uh, no. I - er - he'd not that weird." Nice job, I cursed silently.

Annabeth frowned out the window, her gray eyes unfocused. Her brain was probably going faster than Usain Bolt running at a thousand times his top speed. Sometimes, Leo wondered how her trains of thought went. Was it like ZOOM ZOOM ZOOOM or more like a AAHH WATCH OUT COMING THROUGH ZOOM ZOOM SUPERSPEEEEDDDD!

He was guessing more of the second one.

"Well, he wouldn't seem weird to you," Annabeth muttered to herself. "At least, not if I'm right. Leo, does he seem closed off and kind of...I dunno...different from how he's just...supposed to be?"

I almost snorted. Well duh he was different than how he was supposed to be! Sarcasm was practically every teenage boy's religion; if anyone found me a dude that retreated into the shadows and barely spoke besides Percy, I'd lick Jason's ass. Not literally, because ew, but I'd suck up to him for a year and be like a mini-him. All. The. Time.

Yeah, if there was that much at stake, I wasn't joking.

"Yeah." My response was late, but Annabeth didn't seem to mind. "Yeah, he does."

"Mm. Thanks, Leo." She turned back to the window, resting her chin in her hands. I could sense that I wouldn't be getting any more out of her, so I turned and ripped open the bag of Fonzies, popping a few in my mouth. _Mmmm._ The bag was empty in only a minute. Crumpling up the wrapper and tossing it in the trash, I plopped down on a chair and grabbed some spare parts from a cabinet. Where had they even come from? Had I left them here?

Surprisingly, the window was actually very stimulating. The sky was blue, blue, blue, with the occasional patch of white. My mind was getting faster now, and I was sure it was functioning on all cylinders plus maybe a few extra. My fingers were flying in my lap, assembling and disassembling random things that couldv'e been very useful if their lifespan was longer than five seconds.

Was Percy weird? I guessed so. Even for a foster kid, he was unnaturally quiet and shy and didn't make eye contact. Also, school had just let, it was the middle of June, and he was wearing a giant hoodie and jeans. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before. Maybe I should jump him when he leaves his room. Yeah, that would work! And then I could force him to take off the hoodie, and...jeez, what was I thinking? That would be terrible.

But...would it be worth it?

Percy POV

 _You're okay. You're okay. You're okay._

 _YOU'RE NOT OKAY._

 _YOU'REOKAYYOU'REOKAYYOU'REOKAYIT'LLBEFINEFINEFINEYOU'REOKAY._

I pressed my hand to my head, curling into a ball. The attack was already coming on, and if I stood up, it'd come like a wave and I'd probably collapse. After that, well, it'd all go downhill. Everyone would come running, my complete weird unnaturalness would be unveiled, and I'd be sent back in two days.

Maybe being sent back would be better. No, I didn't want to be sent back like that. Most foster homes sent me back anyway, calling me 'too unresponsive' and 'too shy' and 'too quiet and quirky and weird.' It'd hurt the first few times, but by now I really didn't care that much.

Besides, they barely knew me, and that wouldn't change no matter how long I stayed in here. Triggers were everywhere. Even the color blue sent a wave of memories hurtling through me. Screaming? Forget about it, I'd be in the middle of an attack before the person closed their mouth. Blood? Well, I was almost immune to that by now. I'd seen enough of my own to stop getting nauseous and sad at it. Blood was a part of life.

And maybe dying was too. They went hand in hand, really.

The edges of my vision were already starting to turn black. If I just curled up here and waited until it was over, I'd be okay, right? No one would come running. Maybe I should lock the door.

As soon as I opened my eyes, the panic attack I'd been holding back swooped in, sensing a moment of weakness. I stifled a small cry and slowly, jerkily sat back down, my mouth opening and closing in little gasps. Overwhelming fear was everywhere. My thoughts wouldn't be straight for much longer.

 _\- there she is -_

 _\- blood, blood everywhere, floorboards stained, metallic smell, screams -_

 _\- blue eyes, her eyes are blue, mine are green, green like his, I don't want him, I don't want either of them -_

 _\- one last shuddering breath and she's gone -_

 _\- gunshot. blood, tears, sweat, kneeling, nonoNO she's gone why didn't i do anything -_

When I woke up, I was conscious, but I would really rather face the redness of the inside of my eyelids rather than the real world around me.

 **End that! Man, this chapter is so much better than my original chapter two. So bye guys! Plus I need a beta, so please help!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Jesus. I got threee favorites in ONE FREAKING HOUR. How is this possible? How? How? HOW?!**

 **Percy: I'll take over from here. Sophie is very grateful for all of your support but wants to tell you that she's on vacation in Tennessee, so the Wifi isn't as great, but she will try to update. And she was just at a water park. That's it, right?**

 **Annabeth: No, Seaweed Brain! We need to do the disclaimer, remember?**

 **Percy: Oh, yeah...well, Sophie owns nothing! Now she will type the chapter while reading the second Maximum Ride book because why not.**

Annabeth POV

 _Screams. Flashing lights, crackling glass, crunching metal, fire rising into the air, tendrils of smoke spiraling into the night air. Sirens. Red and white lights. Incoherent mumbling, more screams, paramedics lifting her into a stretcher, the bodies of her parents..._

I sat up in bed, drenched in cold sweat. I shivered, blinking a few times to clear the image of my mother's bruised and bloody face. Trying to clear that night from my memory. The night my idol died. The night when I became an orphan.

I glanced at my clock. 11:30 PM. Hmmm...I don't think anyone's still up.

I crept down the stairs for a midnight snack because I was hungry and cookies calmed me down after nightmares like the one I had just had. I sound like a sissy, but it's true. Don't judge.

I quietly opened the pantry door and pulled a chocolate chip cookie out of the package, taking a bite and going out onto the porch in my fuzzy owl pajamas. The moon was high in the sky, bathing the backyard in an eerie silver light.

Creepy but beautiful.

As I opened the door to go back inside, a shadowy figure came downstairs from the hall where my room was. I froze. Was it a burglar?

I closed the door silently and stayed outside. The cold wind blew past and I shivered.

The figure came closer to the door to the porch. I gulped. I'm screwed.

The door opened and...Percy stepped out. I pressed myself further back into the shadows. He didn't notice me. Thank goodness for gray owl pajamas and gray shadows and...

Percy whipped his head around. I cursed my blonde hair. He caught sight of me and glared at me, hard. I smiled innocently and said, "Hi! Whatcha doing outside at eleven at night?"

"I should be asking you," he said evenly, reaching behind him for the doorknob. "Whatcha doing outside at eleven at night?" He mimicked. I scowled.

"First of all, I do _not_ sound like that. Second of all, what I do is my business. Third of all, what are you doing outside at eleven at night?" I asked coolly. If he wanted to be rude, why couldn't I? Two can play at this game.

"What I do is my business," he mocked. "See you, Blondie." He said, heading back inside.

I waited until I was sure he was gone, and then went back inside, slamming the door behind me. Just hard enough to get out some anger, but not enough to wake up the house. My trademark door-slam tactic.

"Blondie," I muttered, kicking a step. "Yeah, right. I'll show you _Blondie,_ idiot."

"You said something?" Percy asked. He looked amused. He was sitting on top of the refrigerator, which was seven freaking feet tall. "Aw, so sweet. Look,you care what I think of you. How cute. Do you sit around curling your hair too?"

I scowled at him. "Oh, yes, I sit around all day painting my nails and gossiping about Taylor Swift with my BFF Thalia. Totally," I said. "No, you moron! I actually have a brain and I use it!"

"You have an inferior brain. I have the superior one. I just don't use it around you because I don't want you having trouble understanding me," he said, sounding bored. I fumed. How is it that I can be the master of insults when he's not around, and when he is around, I get insulted so badly I can't even come up with a good comeback? Or a halfway decent one?

"In your dreams," I spat. It's the best I can come up with on short notice. Don't judge me.

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Is your tiny brain enough to even let you have dreams?"

I stomped my foot like a two year old. "Ugh! You're so - ugh!"

"Good job! Now come up with a word to fill in the 'ugh!' part of it!" he said.

I stomped back upstairs and threw my pillow at the wall. Luckily, I live next to an empty room - oh wait. The empty room is no more. I groaned and floppedonto the bed.

I heard light footsteps coming up the stairs and leaped up, locking my door. The footsteps went into the room beside mine. Percy's room now. The door to that room closed quietly and the guitar strumming picked up again.

I listened, interested. My ear was pressed up against the wall now.

There was no singing this time, just chords and notes being plucked in a low, soft sound. Honestly, there was no real message I could really interpret, although maybe I just suck at listening to music. Although I could tell there was one emotion to it all. Anger.

Why would it be anger?

Percy POV

I sat down on the bed, bedsprings creaking, and stared up at the ceiling. It looked perfect, but if you looked closer you could see the tiny cracks, the flaws, the imperfections.

I snorted. Man, what I knew about imperfections was enough to fill a book. Several books, the size of dictionaries.

 _"Useless bitch!"_

I gritted my teeth and pushed the memory out. Idiot brain. Get. The. Memories. Under. Freaking. Control.

Just to make myself feel better...okay, you got me. It was just because I'm bored and feeling kind of mad at the world right now. Anyways, just for kicks, I picked my guitar back up from the floor and strummed a few chords. Sure, it wasn't world class musician, but it was enough to get the message of anger across. I think.

I plucked another few notes and then just sort of let loose. Sure, I'm not the best anger management class teacher out there, but I can manage myself for longer than two minutes.

I just randomly plucked notes, strummed chords, whatever. It wasn't an actual song, or really making things up. It was more like an inner instinct, telling me what to do...oh, great. Now I sound like one of those mushy gushy songwriters. ' _It's like my broken heart is telling me what to write.'_

"Why am I here?" I muttered to myself, letting the guitar fallout of my hands again and flopping down onto the bed. "Why is it that every single time I don't belong? Why is it that no one likes me?"

I smirked at the last question. "Must be my amazing personality and superior friendliness," I mumbled, popping an earbud in and picking out a random song.

I didn't even really listen. I just sort of tuned the sound out and somehow fell asleep.

HAHA! Oh, I so got you! I didn't sleep a single wink that night. Although that is a stupid expression. I mean, who sleeps in winks?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I got you again! I did sleep! And no more of these weird crazy laughs. I did sleep, just not well.

 **:p. Sorry about the end, I just couldn't resist. And my little brother was pestering me and telling me to put a 'I so got you' in there, and he said he wouldn't stop unless I either actually typed that in and posted it or gave him an Oreo. And since my Oreos are MINE, I just did this instead. Sorry, guys.**

 **Percy: Hey, what about me?**

 **Annabeth: And me?**

 **Me: Shut up guys I'm trying to have a tearful farewell. Bye guys! *fake tears* Just kidding, I don't fake tears. But whatever. Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back! Sorry for not updating for a week or so, but I had my little sister's birthday a few days before Christmas and then my brother's birthday a few days after Christmas. Mine is in February. But anyways, yeah. I was busy buying presents for them, helping organize their parties...etc. etc. So sorry for not updating, but here you go now. Percy, disclaimer.**

 **Percy: Sophie doesn't own PJO. Now please don't torture me!**

 **Me: *evil grin* Okay, okay, I won't. This'll be a nicer one about Percy and a certain someone bonding.**

Percy POV

I stepped confidently into the McLean's kitchen, fully dressed and everything. I was wearing my usual: black T-shirt, leather jacket, ripped jeans, and occasionally sunglasses. Cool ones. But since I was all out of cool sunglasses, I had to settle for an iPod and earbuds instead.

Oh well. Small losses.

I cast a quick glance around. It was eight in the morning again, and that blonde girl...Annabeth, I think. Yeah. Annabeth was sitting at the table with Thalia. They were eating their way through a box of donuts. Jason, Leo, and Piper were sitting st the other end of the table, fiddling with some sort of small box thingy.

Nico was in the living room, lounging on the sofa, feet propped on the dainty glass coffee table. He also had an iPod and earbuds and I could almost hear his music through my own.

I deemed him worthy of my awesomeness and pure baconness and plopped down on the sofa next to him. With a gap of about five feet in between us. I don't have the best friend-making skills. Stop judging me. I see you judging me! I see you!

Nico didn't acknowledge me for a while and I was pretty grateful and slightly surprised. Honestly, the dude seemed like me: not really the 'popular dude who loves making friends', and more of the 'weird rebel guy who has a motorcycle and who every girl wants to date'. Okay, maybe not the dating part, but you get my point.

After a while, and three different songs that all featured profanity, and bad profanity, Nico pulled one of his earbuds out and tapped me on the shoulder. "Hello? You alive in there?"

I scowled, but pulled an earbud out, pausing the song that was playing (Deadpool's theme song) and said roughly, "What do you want?"

"Just wondering what you were listening to," Nico said casually, and not fake casually either. More of 'I-was-bored-of-my-song-so-I-decided-to-talk-to-you' casual. Like, normal casual. Huh. I over analyze a lot, don't I? Well, don't judge me!

"Why does that matter?" I asked coldly. Dang it. My previous assumption of Nico beingokay to be friends with wasn't exactly correct, was it? I was probably getting kicked out soon. Better to not have connections to say good-bye to.

"Well, if it makes you feel better about telling me the oh-so-important song you're listening to, I'm listening to 'Not ready to die'." Nico said sarcastically. I smirked. Someone who finally understood the language of sarcasm and spoke it! Yes!

"Not ready to die?" I asked, some of my eagerness spilling out into my emotionless voice. Damn you, eagerness! "I like that song, so I will tell you the oh-so-important song I'm listening to. It's that Deadpool song."

Nico cocked an eyebrow. "The 'X Gon Give It To Ya' or that other one?"

"X Gon Give It To Ya," I blurted out. I then immediately cursed myself for opening up, even slightly. "Um. The one that says the f-word a lot." Hey, I might not be the perfect kid, but I don't say the f-bomb unless I have a good reason.

"Yeah. Mom won't let me watch Deadpool unless someone else agrees to come with me, and no one has. They're all chickens," Nico grumbled, sliding down on the couch. "They all think it's too 'violent' and says the f-word too much."

"I'd go," I blurted, nearly slapping my hand over my mouth. Damn you, Percy! Damn you!

"Really?" Nico's whole face lit up. "Really? Annabeth says that she would rather study, and Thalia would, but her schedule's too full, and Leo and Piper think it's way too profane, and Jason says he would but he also has a full schedule, and that's it. Dad's too busy, too. And Mom would never go."

"Um, you didn't need to list why your family wouldn't go," I felt a little pang when I said family. I hadn't felt like I had one since my real mom had dodged. "But my answer still stands. I'll go."

Annabeth POV

Nico squealed, "Really?" from the living room, and Thalia and I turned around to see who he was talking to. To everyone's surprise, it was Mr. Expressionless Brick Wall, Percy Jackson himself. Percy looked uncomfortable but still comfortable...that made no sense, did it? Percy looked sort of uncomfortable, but he was still holding out.

"Annabeth says that she would rather study, and Thalia would, but her schedule's too full -" I stopped listening there. Nico was obviously talking about that movie Deadpool that he wanted to see.

Wait...something about this was off. Why was Nico telling Percy all this? Unless...unless...Percy had agreed to go with Nico?

No. Way. Mom had made all of us promise not to go watch Deadpool with Nico, because she said it was 'too violent' and 'had too much cursing'. But here Percy was, bashing through all her precautions to make sure that Nico would never see Deadpool.

Oh. No.

"Uh, Nico?" I blurted, rushing towards them with a chocolate-sprinkled donut in my hand. "Um, Mom said that she wanted all of us to agree to not watch Deadpool with you, and she said she would never pay for the movie tickets, and, um..."

Nico shrugged. "I know. What, you think I'm stupid? I overheard Mom asking Thalia. I just didn't want to get all mad and stuff. I've got better things to do."

Percy gave me a quick evil eye. I pretended not to notice, but it was seriously evil. Like, the Evil Queen from Snow White plus, like, I dunno, Voldemort and then plus Hitler evil. And here I thought my evil eye was threatening.

"That's kind of annoying," Percy said after a pause. "I mean, Deadpool can't be that bad. I saw the trailer a few times. Deadpool said the f word twice and the s word one and I think he said a lot more. I just don't remember."

"Really?" Nico asked, his face lighting up. "I have to see that!" Nico punched Percy's arm playfully. "I am so gonna get Mom to let me go somehow. I will pay her two hundred bucks if I have to. There is no way I will be able to live without watching that."

Percy POV

I jerked away from Nico as soon as I felt his fist make contact with my arm. It didn't hurt, but then again, almost nothing hurt anymore. He could've sucker punched me for all I knew.

I could already feel myself starting to hyperventilate. I'm not normally this vulnerable to panic attacks, but actually saying more than twenty words did things like that to me. My vision began fading to black around the edges. Crap.

"I gotta go," I mumbled to no one in particular, standing up and strolling out of the living room. As soon as I was sure I was out of their sight, I bolted into 'my' room and closed the door quietly, leaning against the wall and slowly sliding down until I was sitting with my head in my hands.

I was trembling now, and I could already feel my breathing begin to come in short, quick bursts. I squeezed my eyes closed, trying desperately to get my breathing and the shaking under control, but I was already headed for a long, long panic attack.

See, the normal length for a panic attack is about thirty minutes. For me, it can last up to two hours. Most of the time, I can get it under control quickly and it never happens, but when I lose control...well, let's just say I've missed both lunch and dinner holed up in my room before.

I could nearly feel my memories trying to take control. In fact, the world was starting to fade into the memory. I narrowed my eyes and pushed the memories back, digging my fingernails into my palms.

That helped for a minute, but right after I unclenched my palms, the smooth wall behind me was already beginning to feel like the rough cement one back with Gabe. I stood up, ignoring the throbbing pain in my temples, and unzipped my small duffel bag, sifting through the clothes until I felt the smooth metal of my one prized possession: my knife. See how messed up I am?

I pulled my sleeves up, exposing my scarred forearm, and sliced into it, letting my shoulders relax while the small sting of pain from the cut jolted me back to reality. No creepy flashbacks for today, thank you very much.

And then, because nothign in my life could ever be easy, because that would mess with the rules of the universe, the bedroom door cracked open just the tiniest bit and that gray-eyed girl peeked inside.

 **Yeah, sorry for being so...unactive? Inactive? Not active? I actually don't know. Okay, so back to what I was saying. This chapter might be kinda short compared to my others, but sorry. I just haven't had a lot of time, in between the spelling bee I'm preparing for and the piano auditions. I'm playing the Chopin etude called 'Black Keys' and a Beethoven sonata. It's hard. And I'm about to fail ninth grade Chinese, and there's just a whole lot of stuff going on. Oh, and my friend and I are screwed. We're partners for a science fair and it's due in a week or so and we've barely even started.**

 **Percy: And I'm supposed to be in the middle of some giant war with that Nero dude.**

 **Annabeth: Me too.**

 **See? Everyone's busy nowadays.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I looked up 'panic disorder' to see the symptoms, and then I saw the images of these quotes and I was like: Mind. Blown. Must write chapter before inspiration fades. So here it is, and a quick upddate too! Well, quick for me.**

 **Percy: Hurry up! She doesn't own it.**

 **Me: Thanks.**

Annabeth POV

I cracked the door open, peeking in, and Percy's head whipped around, staring at me. I gulped, and then I realized that the scene before me was so not innocent.

I'm going to give you a quick warning: This part is not the bad part, so if you feel like it, skip the rest of this line and go straight to the next one. go on. I'm giving you time now. MOve on now, people. Alright, now here's the not-innocent part.

The duffel bag was open, and there was a freaking knife in Percy's hand and a bleeding cut on his forearm. He dropped the knife, and it fell onto the floor with a thump, but at that point I was frozen in place. God. I never really thought of Percy as the warm, sunshiny type, but cutting?

I finally managed to get my vocal chords to work and I managed to choke out, "What is this?" I was pretty sure my eyes looked like they were about to pop out and land on the floor, but that wasn't really a concern right now.

"Nothing. Get out." Percy said flatly, reaching out to slam the door in my face. I shoved the door open and strode in, picking the knife back up and waving it in his face. I was about to accuse him and everything, but the plain fear roiling in his eyes made me stop.

I set the knife gently on the bed, but I'm pretty sure Percy was already pretty freaked out. He was trembling, just a bit, but it still counted as trembling in my book. His breathes were coming in short, fast, uneven bursts and his fists were clenched tightly.

"Uh...are you okay?" I asked weakly, reaching out. My hand brushed his arm and he jerked back, tripping over himself and landing next to the wall with a thump. I half expected Thalia to come running, but I'm pretty sure she was still stuffing her face with donuts.

I knelt down next to him, but he slapped my hands away. "Just go," he whispered. His voice was harsh and filled with fear. "Just go."

"I am staying right here until you tell me exactly what goddamn things you were going to do with that knife," I said firmly, giving him a glare. "Look, I may not like you that much and you may not be the most sunshiny person on earth. But I swear, if you were going to commit suicide, I will get a 24/7 guard on you and put those little baby rubber thingies on every remotely sharp thing in here. Got it?"

"It's perfectly normal, okay?" Percy snapped, raising his head and glaring right back at me. "Ever heard of a panic attack?"

"Uh-huh. So you normally respond to panic attacks by trying to commit suicide?" I snapped right back.

"That wasn't suicide," he muttered. Percy squeezed his eyes shut for a second and kept going. "I had to stop it, and that's the only way I know how to! Other than suicide. Or possibly going into a coma. Or maybe jumping off the Grand Canyon, but I guess that's suicide."

"Listen, I really don't care how bad this panic attack is. Hurting yourself isn't the answer," I said, slipping the knife into the back pocket of my jeans and sitting down. "It's never been the answer and it never will be, got it?"

"Sometimes it's the only way out," Percy whispered. "Sometimes it really does help. It feels better than-than other things."

I stayed silent, hoping he would go on. This was the most words any of us had been able to get out of him, including Nico, and Nico was probably the closest to him. Well, maybe not, but Nico had heard him talk the most. I think.

"I just hate the panic attacks. I hate this anxiety. I hate worrying about everything. I hate the paranoia. I hate wondering if the whole world is against me. I hate always being depressed. I hate always feeling like I don't belong."

I kept being quiet. This was my strategy for when people began venting. The occasional nod, a 'mm-hmm', and a 'I agree with you' or an 'I understand' does a lot when dealing with an angry Thalia, or Piper, or Jason, or Leo, or Nico. Or Mom. And then, using my unfallible technique, I nodded a bit.

"Then again, why am I saying this? You'd never understand," Percy whispered, looking down at his hands. "You're perfect, aren't you Blondie? Has anyone ever told you you were useless? Or pathetic?"

I could visibly see the hurt and the anger and the longing for someone to understand churning in his eyes. I could almost hear him arguing with himself in his head. Tell her or don't tell her? Throw her out or let her stay?

Personally, I hoped the tell her and the let her stay side won, because I didn't feel like getting thrown out of a room. At least, not today. Maybe tomorrow.

"Um. Yeah, I understand," I said, my voice wavering a bit. I'm usually a master liar, but apparently today my lying skills failed me. Stupid lying skills.

"No, you don't. You would never understand. How it feels. It's the worst feeling in the world. Panic attacks go from 0 to 100 in less than a second. I worry all the time. I feel like I'm trapped. It's a constant wall. It stops you in your tracks. And then the real attack sets in. Your hands and feet go numb. Your ears are ringing and everything's suddenly too loud. Cold chills crawl up your spine. You're hyperventilating. Tasting metal. You feel like everybody's watching as you break down, and they're all laughing and pointing and yelling at you for being so weak and stupid and pathetic. And you're slowly falling into a black pit, an endless one, and you're screaming for help but no one helps and do you know why? Because you're too _stupid_ and _weak_ and _pathetic_."

I scooted back a few inches. "Look, I -"

"I know. You lied, but for a good reason, am I right? Lying is _never good._ Ever."

 **This was supposed to be a happy chapter...what happened to the good old days when I could still write happy bonding chapters without screwing it up and revealing some huge mental problem? *sigh***


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, since this is currently the only story I have even the barest hint of ideas for, let the story commence. Hopefully.**

 **Dislciamer: Percy took the day off, so I'm doing it. I don't own le Percy or le PERCABETH. Sadly.**

Percy POV

 _Gabe stepped closer to me, leering and showing me all of his yellow beer-stained teeth. I shrank back against the wall, fighting the stupid panic attack I could feel coming on. Stupid, stupid panic attacks. I was definitely the weakest person on the planet. I couldn't even defend myself from my own stupid mind._

 **In case you haven't noticed, I'm just trying to avoid cursing right now.**

 _"Please don't," I whispered, feeling a shard of glass from a broken beer bottle cutting into my palm. I bit my lip to keep from crying out in pain. I was starting to hyperventilate. Gabe laughed cruelly and pulled out a knife._

 _I let out a little whimper at the sight of the glinting metal. My mouth filled with the taste of rust and the cut on my palm was bleeding onto the rough cement floor. I was fighting back tears and a panic attack._

 _"Aw, is the poor wittle weakling wishing for his weakling mommy?" Gabe slurred drunkenly. He was taunting me. He took an unsteady step forward, his teeth bared. I kept pressing myself into the wall as adrenaline coursed through me._

 _"Or is it one of his stupid wittle 'panic attacks'?" Gabe snarled, grabbing a fistful of my dirty shirt and yanking me upwards so my eyes were level with his. "What a weak wittle bitch."_

 ** _I sorry for cursing._**

 _I was petrified with fear. My whole body locked in place as Gabe threw me back down to the ground. My head collided with the floor and stars exploded in my eyes. Gabe delivered a hard kick to my ribs, sending me back a few feet._

 _"You - stupid - little - bitch!" Gabe shouted, kicking me in the chest with each word. Acid burned through me and I let out a small yelp of pain. Gabe punched me in the ribs and growled, "Shut up."_

 _Tears swam in my eyes and blurred my vision, burning the backs of my eyes. Gabe grabbed my wrist and closed his fist around it tightly, cutting off my circulation. It was a struggle just to breathe. There was an iron fist closing over my rib cage._

 _Gabe forced me onto my stomach, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him raise the knife. The sharp edge glinted wickedly in the dim light. Panic spilled icy water into my veins and I squirmed under Gabe's grasp, trying to get free. Gabe stepped on my wrist and I heard a snap, followed by excruciating pain._

 _I barely even felt it as the knife dug into my flesh, because in all honesty, the pain felt better than the lingering question of why nobody still loved me._

I sat up in the bed, breathing hard and fast. My heartbeat was definitely going too fast and it was irregular too, just as the frosting on the cupcake. Or cake. Whatever. I was covered in cold sweat. The scars on my back throbbed faintly. My head was pounding. Tears welled in my eyes.

I blinked the tears away and reached up, running a hand over the slightly bumpy scars. They weren't exactly noticeable unless you felt my back, which would be creepy.

I was about too just go back to sleep and pray no more Nightmares came, but that was when I realized there was somebody else in my bed. With me. How creepy is that?

I stifled a scream and threw the covers up. That stupid Annabeth groaned and turned over. I shook her hard. "What the hell are you doing in _my_ bed? And why are you even in here?"

Annabeth sat up, rubbing her eyes. "I heard you mumbling and stuff, so I came in, and you were twitching and murmuring for someone to please stop and so I rubbed your back for a while and I guess I fell alseep."

I blinked. That was strangely honest. I had been expecting something like, 'I got lost going to the bathroom', or 'Insert-name-here dared me to.' No, it's true. I've heard both of them before.

Wait. She rubbed my _back_? The one with all the _scars_? Well, I mean duh, I've only got one back. If I had, like, four, that would be creepy. Okay. Back on track. She rubbed my back, so she must know, so...

Goddamn. **Again, sorry for the cursing, but this is T rated for a reason.**

"Just go," I said, dropping my head into my hands and stifling a scream of annoyance. "Leave. Shoo. Scram. Bye. Stop being in my bed at three in the morning. Get out. Now. See you later."

Annabeth stayed in the bed. "You know, I felt something weird on your back, so if you have, like, a rash or something...wait, no. Can I see your back?"

"Uh, _no_ ," I snapped. No, no, no. This was so freaking not happened. Goddamn her. Goddamn the whole goddamn world. "Do you get how creepy that sounds? You're a perv, aren't you? I've been here for, like, two days and you're asking to _feel_ my _back_?"

"No, I'm just asking for you to pull your shirt up a bit so I can make sure your back isn't, like, covered in some sort of weird exotic rash or whatever. It's called being concerned for your health, and mine, and everyone else's. I promise, I won't touch it. Okay?"

"Nope. Not gonnna happen. Negative. No. Um...nyet," I said. The scars on my back were throbbing again. God, they were _so annoying_. "My back is fine. Completely fine. What do you think is on there?"

She shrugged. "It just felt weird, so I wanted to check it out. If you don't want to, no worries. I'll just go back to my room now," she swung her legs over the sides of the bed and padded out of the room and down the hall. I fell backwards and my head hit the headboard of the bed. I winced.

"Stupid wood," I muttered. "Stupid Gabe. Stupid life. Stupid Social Services. Stupid Annabeth."

 **Meh. It's short, but I'll try to make next chapter longer. Kay?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Dear Emma Chase-Hunter of Artemis, and sapphirelg (did I spell that right?), I thank you for all your support and everything. I'm feeling pretty well in both categories thank you very much Emma. So anyways, I really don't think I write well, and I pretty much depend on spellcheck for everything in spelling. I am a terrible speller, but somehow I made it to the county spelling bee. *facepalm*. So anyways, that's tomorrow (Jan. 28) and I am SOFRIGGINNERVOUS.**

 **Disclaimer: Percy is still on vacay in the Bahamas (with Annabeth), so I will be doing disclaimers for the remainder of the month. I don't own PJO. Sadly. Screw you Rick. So anyways, I was just wondering why Percy would choose the Bahamas to vacay in because it's January, and then I remembered he's a figment of my imagination. *sob***

Annabeth POV

I padded down the hall, feeling the cold of the bare wood floors seeping into my feet. I shivered. God, it was so cold when you had just been...under your foster brother's blankets. Awkward, I say. Awkward.

I turned the doorknob to my room and fell onto the half-made bed, still shivering. Screw Percy. I had known something was up from the moment my hand touched his back. And I promise, it was in a very innocent way. I did not in any way like Percy, I merely wanted to make sure he wasn't schizo. great. Now I'm arguing with myself.

And now I'm arguing with myself about arguing with myself. Peachy. Yeah, I talk about him being schizo, and then promptly start acting like a schizo myself. I am starting to worry about my sanity. But I get good grades in school...now I'm arguing with myself about my sanity! That just proves I'm insane. Oh well. With genius comes insanity.

I remembered the pained whimpers from last night; the strained muttering, and the nervous twitching. Honestly, I didn't really know anything about Percy. I didn't even know his _last name_. That, my friends, proves that I literally know nothing about him. And yet I want to protect him...no I don't! Oh crap, now I'm arguing with myself about Percy.

I facepalmed and groaned. My sanity was questionable so far, my motives for somehow ending up in Percy's bed were definitely questionable, and now I was making a list about this stuff. WHY AM I INSANE?

There was a musical twang and I nearly tripped over myself in an attempt to get to the wall to listen. I fell off the bed with a thump and the guitar playing paused. I held my breath, barely daring to breathe, and then the guitar slowly started up again.

I crawled to the wall and pressed my ear to it. My breathing was soft and irregular, and I was just waiting to see what Mr. Not Really Emotionless Brick Wall would do this time. _Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the next episode of Eavesdropping on my Strange Foster Brother's Guitar Playing!_

Yep, I'm insane and proud.

Therre were a few chords plucked and Percy began singing in a soft voice. I couldn't hear any of the words clearly, but I could tell exactly what he was playing. Sort of. Not the name of the song, but the whole message was pretty much the opposite of the last time. This time it was more like frustration and sadness and bittersweetness. If that's even a word.

I tiptoed out of my room and into the hallway, pressing my ear against Percy's door and listening. The sound of muffled sobbing was just barely reaching my ears. I concentrated on the sound, and then my hand slipped and pushed the doorknob down. The door flew open and I tripped over myself, landing on my butt. Inside Percy's room.

Percy's head snapped up and I waved awkwardly. "So. Good day for...er...accidentally...falling...into rooms?"

Percy seemed about ready to blow his top, but then he just dropped his head into his hands. I just barely caught a glimpse of tears shining in his eyes. "I give up. There is no way you can live without popping into my room every five minutes, can you?"

My face turned a bright red. "I...um...I didn't know. I just...tripped...and...um..."

"Whatever," Percy said. "Just...can you go please?"

"Um, you know, your guitar is kind of loud..." I blurted, and then immediately clamped my hands over my stupid big mouth. "That is...I woke up one night and your guitar was...um...I mean -"

"What did you hear?" Percy asked, obviously exasperated.

"Um...you were talking about - I mean singing this song and then you said something about your mom -"

Percy's expression changed to one of raw pain for a second and then resumed it's emotionless facade. "M-mom?"

I nodded slowly. Wrong thing to do. Percy blinked really fast for a second and then a tear slowly slid down his cheek and splashed onto his hand.

"Um, my mom died too," I whispered. I didn't normally talk about the car accident, but Percy was different. He _understood_. Thalia was great and all, but she didn't quite get the empty hole that opened up in you when you realized that your parents, the people you loved most in the world, were _gone._ And they weren't coming back.

Percy's voice was barely a whisper. "How?"

I really, really didn't want to talk about it, but if it helped...well, Mom did say to help Percy 'open up', and if this was what it took, I would do it. _Plus you like him,_ a tiny voice whispered in my head. _I do not!_ I shouted in my brain, and then began my long sad tale of woe.

"Um, there was...there was a drunk driver...he crashed into my mom's car...I survived, but Mom and Dad both died...and I felt like the world had just...sort of lost all it's meaning, you know? 'Cause I loved them so, so much...they were everything I had." Talking about it made my head hurt where I knew it had bashed against the dash and my chest constricted painfully. A lump grew in my throat. "I...I really miss them."

Percy didn't say anything. Even thought I already knew how his mom had died, I still wanted to see if I had gotten him to 'open up'. Or I wanted to see if he liked me too...NO NO NO. I shut that train of thought down immediately. "So, um, how about your mom?"

Percy's head whipped up again. I could see the tears starting to form in his eyes. "I...I don't like to talk about it," he snapped, but the effect was kind of ruined by the way his voice shook slightly. "Just go, please."

But of course, since I have the world's worst control over what I say, I blurted out, "Mom says she was killed by your...er...stepfather. I-I mean...god, screw my stupid mouth!"

"Crap, I said that out loud, didn't I?" I muttered to myself. "Er...I mean..."

"I miss her," Percy said. His voice was wavering big-time now, and I could tell he was crying. Softly, nearly silently, but I could tell. "I miss her so much."

I slowly scooted over to where he was sitting and curled my legs in, feeling extremely awkward. "I...I understand. I mean, this time I really do, so please don't hurt me. Um, you know, should I just go?"

"No. Please don't go. Please," Percy sounded nearly desperate for me to stay now. I wanted to giggle, and then I realized how insensitive that would be. Besides, I didn't really know anything about this stuff, did I? "It _hurts_."

I awkwardly gave him a one-armed hug. My arm went around his shoulders and I just barely felt those weird bumpy line thingies under my fingers. Percy didn't seem to mind, but I'm preeetty sure he noticed that I could feel the thingies again.

Percy curled into an even smaller ball than before, which I didn't even think was possible, and then, just because I was being brave, I wrapped both arms around him. ' _You liiike him'_ that stupid little voice in my head sang. I scowled.

Okay, maybe I did like him just the tiniest bit. But it was only because...because...um...

 _'You liiiiike him! You liiiiike him!'_

I rolled my eyes. Stupid tiny voice thing. Oh wow, now I'm definitely going crazy. Whatever. Hey, was the voice thing like a conscience? Like that stupid little cricket thingy from Pinocchio? The Disney film? Like, Jiminy Cricket? I never liked him anyways. I mean, what kind of cricket _talks?_ Or wears a _tailored three-piece suit_?

" _I miss her so much_ ," Percy whimpered, leaning into me. I pulled him in closer to me and that stupid little voice decided to act up again, because it's impossible for it to go thirty seconds without yelling at me. _'You liiiiike him!'_

I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth from Percy's body seep into mine. Okay. Fine. I liked him. I liked Percy. You know, I seriously needed to figure out his last name someday.

 **Hi. So, the weirdest thing happened yesterday...it's kind of long, so here we go. So I was sick for a few days (I think I still am) and I was running to catch the bus, and I forgot to zip my backpack up, so all my stuff fell out. So I picked all my stuff up and shoved it back in. But when I was on the bus, I realized that my iPad wasn't IN MY BACKPACK ANYMORE. So I was panicking. But when I got home, I saw my iPad on our front porch with a sticky note on it, and I was like, "MY LIFE HAS RETURNED!" Because I do all of my fanfiction writing on my iPad (I am currently typing on it) because it has better spellcheck than my mom's century-old desktop. Okay, not century old, but really old.**

 **Well, bye, I guess. See y'all! And if you want blue cookies to appear somewhere, go ahead and request them! I was thinking about it, but I don't quite know how to incorporate it into the story.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I have no excuse for not updating. I honestly don't. I just...school caught up to me again, and my mom took my iPad away *sob* and I stole my brother's to type this. So anyways, I'm just...really sorry for the lateness of this update, and please forgive me. If you hate me and have quit on my story now, I do not blame you.**

 **Oh, and please forgive any typos. My brother's iPad does not have great spellcheck like mine does.**

 **Disclaimer: Percy will come back next chapter. And I don't own PJO.**

Percy POV

My lips were pressed together to hold in the sobs, and I could feel the shivers going through my body for every suppressed moan. The raw pain I still felt whenever I thought of my mom - god, it _hurt_ \- was rapidly blossoming and swelling up inside me until I half expected to explode.

Annabeth had her arms around me, hugging me tightly against her as I shivered. Her eyes were closed too, and I could just barely make out the tears gathered at the corners of her eyes through the fog of tears covering mine. I squeezed my eyes shut, a tear trickling down my cheek, and leaned into her, tasting blood as I bit hard into my lip to keep the sobs inside.

"It's okay," Annabeth murmured. "You can cry."

I shook my head, not trusting myself to not burst into tears the second I opened my mouth.

And then I inhaled and it all exploded, rushing out of me in a flood of tears and huge sobs wracking my body. Beside me, Annabeth was crying silently, not making a sound, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Oh my god, oh my god," I whimpered, shaking uncontrollably in Annabeth's arms. Nothing mattered anymore. A dim, faded memory swam to the top of my mind. A bright smile, laughter, twinkling blue eyes. Mom.

"It's okay," Annabeth whispered. "You'll be okay. I promise."

"You can't promise that!" I screamed, tearing away from her and yanking the door open. "You can try and try and _nothing will be alright_ because that's just how it is!" I wasn't thinking. Red rage spiraled around and around I my mind as I shoved her out of the room, slamming the door closed and locking it.

"That's just how it is." I murmured after she was gone, standing in front of the door, shaking. My hands were curled into fists and the tears were gone.

I was crying again before I realized it, hot tears burning the backs of my eyes. I slid down the wall, pulling my knees up to my chest. God, it was just too much right now. Way too much.

Annabeth POV

Percy shoved me roughly out of the door. I landed on the ground, stifling a yelp as pain shot through my arm. The world was spinning.

As soon as I could stand again, I staggered to my feet, knocking on the door. "Percy?" I asked. "I - I'm sorry. I just...please don't be mad." Honestly, _I_ was kind of mad. I was just trying to help, and they gets me thrown out of his room. Wow.

"You know what? I don't care if you're mad. You can be mad. _I'm_ mad. Go ahead and steam in your room and cut your stupid wrists wide open for all I care." I said loudly, not bothering to be quiet so I didn't wake anyone else up. Percy's probably woken up the whole house with his screeching.

"But the thing is, I do care, because suicide isn't something noble or brave. It's just a quick way out. And the quick ways out are always the most painful, for everyone left behind. Look, I don't even know your last name. You don't know mine. And yet I spent the last five minutes in your room, hugging you, and you were crying like a...like a person who was crying a lot." I said.

"The eloquence," came Percy's voice of behind the door. "It burns."

"Shut up," I said teasingly. "So seriously, just lighten up a bit, will you? I honestly mean nothing when I said it'd be okay. I just thought...I just thought it should be okay, and so...you know, I just really wished it'd be okay." I admitted.

No response.

"Annabeth?" Thalia yawned, peering out fro her doorway. Her black hair was messy and her pajamas were rumpled. "Whass' happenin?"

"Nothing," I said quickly. "Go back to bed."

"No seriously," Nico said, coming out from his room. "I heard screaming and thumping and then you were talking to the door, and I'm pretty sure you were talking to Percy, and I don't even know...I don't even know."

"Just...go to bed, guys," I said, leaning towards Thalia. "Talk to you about it in the morning." I hissed into her ear. "Pass it on."

Thalia tiptoed over to Nico's room and whispered something into his ear. Nico nodded, glancing at me with his dark brown eyes, and retreated back into his room. "Whatever, I'm tired anyways. Night, Annie."

"Don't call me that." I muttered, turning back to Percy's door. I ddin't know what to say.

"Hey Percy?" I asked softly. "I just have on question left. I never got the chance to learn your last name. What is it?"

There was complete silence for a while. I could'be sworn I heard crickets chirping. And then Percy answered, in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Jackson."

 **It's bad. The ending is rushed. I am rushed, I just...wanted to get this up so you all could have something! I've been MIA for almost a whole month...f you, school.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm baaaack!**

 **Disclaimer! PERCY'S BACK TOO!**

 **Percy: If you don't know by now, Sophie doesn't own PJO. And if you really ddin't know that by now...we can work on that later.**

Annabeth POV

I stood there, in my pajamas, waiting, for another ten minutes before deciding, _Screw this_. My feet were getting cold from the bare wooden floors and my hair was definitely a rats nest. I needed...I needed more sleep.

The floorboards creaked slightly as I padded across the floor, nestling into the blankets on _my_ bed, the one with the gray bedspread and owl-patterned blanket. The shivers that had been shooting through my body stopped as my eyes shut again. Teenage..girl...must...sleep.

The door opened and I opened one eye, groaning. "Wha...whaddayawant?"

Thalia and Nico crept in. "Spill," Thalia demanded. "I want to know what the hell was going on and why people were screaming at, like, three is the morning. And I would like to know why you were talking to a door."

Nico sighed. "What she said."

I moaned, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. God, this was going too far. "Csn't...it wait till morning?" I yawned, envisioning myself, sleeping, in the bed, without distractions. A true miracle.

"No. Spill." Nico demanded.

"Okay, so...gosh, well, I was going to get a drink from the kitchen, 'cause I was thirsty, and so I got a drink and was coming back to my room and I heard some thrashing and rustling from Percy's room, so I -" I began.

"Wait wait wait...who's Percy?" Thalia asked, scrunching her eyebrows together. I sighed dramatically.

"Thals, you blockhead. Percy is Perseus? New kid? Has earbuds? Plays guitar? So anyways, I heard rustling and stuff, so I -"

"He plays guitar?" Nico interrupted.

"Yes, he does. Do you want to hear the story or not?" I asked, exasperated. Thalia grinned, her cheeks turning pinkish. "Okay, so anyways, back to the story. I heard rustling and whatnot, so I went into his room and he was crying in the bed, so I sat down and just did what you did to me whenever I had a nightmare; I just rubbed his back. So he fell asleep eventually, and I did too, _in his freaking bed_ , and then he woke up somewhere near three and kicked me out of his bed. So then he got all mad, and I left, and he was calling stuff stupid, and then I heard him playing his guitar, and I got out of my room, and went to listen at his door, but the door fell open and I fell into his room, and seriously, the next thing I know, he's crying and I'm hugging him, and he's seriously crying, like, _really_ hard, and I began crying too, and then I told him it was going to be all right, and he pulled away and screamed that it was never okay because that's just how the world works, and he threw me out, and then I was talking to him through the door, and you guys woke up, THE END. Happy now?" I asked, slightly out of breath. That was a lot of talking.

"Wait...so...that's it?" Nico eyed me suspiciously. "I...don't think that's the whole story here..."

"Yeah, neither do I. Spill the beans, Annie girl. I know you two are hiding something...ooh, did you two make -" Thalia began, a wicked smile curving across her face. My face turned bright red. Oh jeez, was she implying that...we..had sex?

 **Again, T for a reason.**

"NO NO NO, we did not do what you are implying we did. I am still a virgin, and I'm...pretty sure he is?" I said, my voice trailing off st the end. "I mean, I did not want to see whether he was or not..."

"I was going to say out, Annie. Make out, not make...ew, why would you even _think_ that? That is...that is...yuck." Thalia said, looking genuinely offended and grossed out. "Man, you have a dirty mind."

"Oh," I said sheepishly, blowing a lock of hair out of my face. "Er...sorry. But we didn't make out either. What makes you think that? He was crying, and I hugged him, and...and end of story, period. Done. The end." I smiled widely.

"Whole story. Now." Nico demanded.

I let out a huge sigh. Percy's cutting raced through my head. The scattering of raised bumps on his back. The panic attack he had had. What _I_ had done, telling him about how my mom and dad had died. All of it raced through my mind in, like, three seconds.

"That is the whole story," I said evenly, trying to hide how badly I was panicking inside. I needed time to think. I needed time to find a suitable story. I needed...I needed some me time.

"Um, look. It's late, I'm tired, and I want to sleep. We can discuss this with Mom and everyone else later. But for now, let's just keep this quiet until Percy warms up enough to us to tell. Yes, he was acting a bit suspicious, but I'm not sure what it is." I said calmly. Oh yeah! Fist bump! I was doing my happy dance on the inside.

"Okay..." Thalia said carefully, looking me over as if expecting me to have nuclear missions strapped to my chest. "If you say so. Let's just sort of tell one at a time, okay? Don't just spill with Piper and Leo together...and Jason...oh, that's bad."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Time for bed," Nico said impatiently. "Thalia, why don't you go on out? I'll be right behind you." Thalia nodded, yawning, and trudged out of my room, mumbling something about wanting to punch the pillow.

Nico folded his arms and gave me a determined look. "You and I both know that you're not telling the truth right now. If you can't trust us to keep this secret, I don't think you know us. If it's something more personal, I respect that, but at least tell me _why_ it's so personal."

I sighed, long and loud. "Nico, I'm sorry, but this isn't my place to tell. It's not personal to me, but it is to Percy, and I just...I just don't want to ruin his privacy for him, y'know? We gave you your space when you first came, and then you warmed up to us! Percy will do the same. Just..give him time, and I promise, he'll tell you when you're both ready."

"You sound like a psychologist." Nico laughed.

 **Meh. Okay, so guys, should Frank and Hazel be introduced next chapter? Vote in the reviews!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi! I'm back! I'll try to update as frequently as possible to make up for my long, long hiatus, because now my projects even all sort of over and I have some free time to chillax and write fanfics.**

 **Yeah, I don't even want to do the disclaimer anymore...**

 **Percy: Sophie owns nothing, and definitely not-**

 **Leo: This super-sized McShizzle right here!**

 **Me: *laughs* Yeah, I got Leo too. Maybe I should get Octavian next, and burn all this teddy bears. Let's see whose laughing them, Octopus-face! Um...yeah...that was bad. Insults are my brother's thing, not mine. So let's go!**

Percy POV

I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling for a long time, tracing the cracks in the wall with my eyes. Cracks. Symbols of weakness. A small, bitter laugh escaped me. Cracks weren't the symbol of weakness. _I_ was.

There was some muttering and I thought I heard Annabeth saying my name over on the other side of the wall, Annaveth's room, but I didn't care. She could be calling me a complete douche and I wouldn't care. **T for a reason.**

Honestly, I was a bit scared. Scared about what I had said back then. Scared about the way I had pulled away. Scared about what would happen to me now. Because as it cheesy as it sounds, I didn't want to leave this foster home. Nico...he seemed like an okay guy. Annabeth...she comforted me, sure, but I wasn't all that sure over her. Aphrodite was okay too, and honestly, I really did want to get to know them all.

But I'm preeeettty sure they wouldn't want to get to know me, me and my crazy, stupid panic attacks. Me and my stupid flashbacks, and yes they did happen. Mostly during my panic attacks. Me and my weird screwy past. Nope, nobody wanted to get to know this screwed-up creature over here.

And by that, I meant nobody wanted to get to know me. If they did, they'd probably hate me for being such a weak person. It didn't matter how 'traumatic' my past was. I should be able to get over it and be a man. **XD Mulan.**

The door shut quietly in Annabeth's room and opened softly in mine. I propped myself up on my elbows, prepared to sock Annabeth in the face and yell, "Seriously girl, why you stalk me?" But it wasn't Annabeth.

It was Nico and Thalia.

My mouth opened and I was ready to shout some choice words at them, but Nico stopped me by coming over and - get this - sitting next to me and watching me expectantly with his dark eyes, like he wanted some cookies or whatever.

"Look, what do you want?" I asked grumpily, sitting up. "I'm sleeping. Or at least I'm _trying_ to."

"No, you're not. Annabeth told me about what happened, and you were most definitely not sleeping when you were kicking her out of your bed and room at three in the morning. If you laid her I'll kill you." Thalia threatened.

I gulped. Gosh. Thalia thought I _laid_ Annabeth? **T for a reeeaaason!** Oh, ew. Oh, gods no. "No way," I said...scratch that, nearly shouted. "There is no way I would let her into my bed of my own free will! Ew, ew, ew! Ew! Ew!"

"I get it. You don't like Annabeth. At least, not in that way," Nico said dryly. "By the way, Annabeth told us about how you were crying in your dream or whatever and she fell asleep in your bed trying to comfort you, but really. What happened?"

Panic spilled icy water into my veins and I struggled to come up with an answer. Come on stupid brain, _work!_ I begged myself. Nico glared at me, his eyes expectant. Thalia was watching me intently.

"I - uh - nothing else happened," I lied, crossing my fingers behind my back. "Nothing at all. I...was just having a nightmare. About...popcorn. Coming to eat me. And of Leo using lame...pickup lines...on boys..."

"Ew," Thalia said. "You think he's gay? No way, my man. And I know that isn't all that happened."

I gulped.

Nico came closer. "This sounds incredibly cheesy, and is nearly copied word for word from Moana and Hallmark cards, but here we go. Look, Percy, we want to help, we really do. We know you must've been through a lot, and we just want you to understand that we're here for you. We want to help, but we...we can"t if you don't even give us a chance."

I sighed and looked away. "Three questions and you're out of this room. Clear?"

Thalia and Nico high-fived and cheered. "Three for each of us?" Nico aske dhopefully.

"No," I said firmly. "You two divide them up."

"Alright, I call first! What really happened with Annabeth? In the bed? And with that nightmare of...um... _popcorn_ eating you and Leo using pickup lines?" Nico demanded.

I bit my lip. I ddin't have to answer truthfully, and I knew that. I ddin't need help. I had to prove I was strong, and not weak. I had to prove I could survive on my own. Without help from other people.

"I told you, just what I said earlier." I replied.

"Uh-huh. And _popcorn_ made you cry and shake in your bed?" Thalia asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow. I smiled slightly, embarrassed, and shrugged awkwardly. My favorite kind of answer.

"Did you just smile?" Nico asked incredulously, like that never happened. My face quickly went right back to an irritated scowl, and Nico's face fell. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I don't do that," I retorted. "Smiling isn't healthy. After all, it takes more muscles to frown than to smile, but it only takes four to reach out and punch whatever's making you mad in the face. See, it works."

"Back to the question," Thalia interrupted. "What did you two do?"

"I swear on the river Styx, we did not make out or...erm...shed our virginity, we did absolutely nothing romantic at all!" The River Styx part just popped out of my mouth. It used to be an inside joke with my...my mother. Just thinking about her and her warm smile caused a huge spike of pain and loss to drive itself into my head.

I blinked back tears, carefully measuring out my breathing and schooling my face into a completely firm expression. Totally blank. No emotions at all. Keep doing that...blank white wall...emotions do not exist. What's an emotion?

"River Styx?" Thalia and Nico blurted. They exchanged a smile, and I felt a twinge of jealousy. At least they had each other, and their family. Sure, I could pretend to have them, and pretend to fit in, and put on a mask (I was an expert at that), but it wasn't the same. Years of knowing each other created strong bonds.

And as for me...well, normally people either ran away screaming or hissed curses at me and stomped off before even three months had passed. I guess I just wasn't very likable.

"Did you say River Styx?" Nico pressed. "You know Greek mythology too? Me and my...my sister, Bianca...we did that too...we swore on the River Styx." His face fell a bit st the mention of Bianca.

And for some reason I felt a vicious twinge of satisfaction, like I wanted my pain, the pain of losing your only family, like I wanted to see it forced on Nico, and I wanted to...to see it break him. To see it shatter him from the inside, and eat away at him so he was nothing more than an empty shell.

And as I looked down at my hands, I admitted it to myself. I wanted to see someone, _anyone_ as broken as I was.

 **Yay! I finished! Man, this was...this was supposed to be a nice happy, light hearted chapter full of bonding and bacon! What haaapppppeeennnneeedddd?**


	11. Chapter 11

**I know you don't want to read a long excuse about why I took a hiatus, so I'll just do the disclaimer and you get the story.**

 **Percy: She owns nothing. Feel terrible, Uncle Rick. Feel terrible.**

 **Oh, by the way, I'm going to try out Thalia or Nico POV next chapter, so review and tell me which one you'd rather see. I'll try to do all the character's POV soon, after I get out of this drama-filled stage of the story.**

 **(PS: I hate writing drama. Especially when tears are involved.)**

Percy POV

"You have one question," I muttered, fiddling with a loose thread on the edge of my shirt. "One minute to decide. Go."

"You suck," Thalia teased. "I call this one. No, Nico, you got the first one, so I get this -"

"But you took the second one! How come you get to get all the questions? This is so freaking unfair!" Nico hissed, careful not to wake the whole house up by shrieking that it wasn't fair. And now I sound like I'm describing a fight between toddlers that want the teddy bear. Great.

"Yeah, well, I'm threatening you with a broken leg if you don't let me have this question," Thalia said evenly, cracking her knuckles. "Want to fight?"

"Both of you shut up. I feel the pain of the poor kindergarten teachers who have to break up fights between two-year-olds," I snapped, somehow managing to rip the loose thread in half. "Seriously."

"We're not two!" Thalia and Nico said at the same time.

"Yeah, well, I'm guessing you have the brains of a two-year-old. So sit down - wait, don't sit - keep standing, and calmly talk it out in the corner. And throw a few punches if you have to. I'll get the popcorn." I said, shooing them away with my hands. "Go. Discuss it nicely in the corner. Fight if you have to."

A few minutes later, Thalia and Nico came back and asked simultaneously, "What's your favorite food?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at them. "You two came in here for the sole purpose of asking me about my life, and now you're asking me what my favorite food is?"

"Answer the freaking question," Nico ordered. "Be grateful it isn't something like, 'How did your parents die?'"

And from that sentence spawned a million different thoughts and memories that I did not want to go back to, thank you very much. From the expression that crossed over Nico's face, I could tell he had seen the small meltdown.

"Favorite food is blue cookies, out, both of you, now," I muttered, trying desperately to keep my voice from breaking. "Shoo. Go. Before I have to throw you through the door."

They both left, Thalia shooting me a curious glance over her shoulder before stepping out. I closed the door as soon as her heel cleared the doorway and leaned against it, barely managing to regulate my breathing. _In, out. In, out._

"You are fine," I whispered to myself, curling my hands tightly over my ears and squeezing my eyes shut to block out the room. "You are fine and you are not going to break down again and you will not do it you will not stopstopstop right now you are fine you are fine you are fine!" My voice rose steadily until I was nearly shouting. Damn.

And of course all the screaming and shrieking and stuff (that mostly came from me) brought the whole house running to my room. Footsteps pounded on the wood and, thankfully, I had enough sense to reach out and lock the door, before stumbling back to my bed and looking for the knife again.

And then I realized Annabeth had slipped it into her back pocket.

Damn.

With nothing to control it, the panic attack grew to a scale I have literally never, in all my sixteen years of life, and I mean _never_ , experienced before in my life.

- _blood pooling from the stab wound, light fading from blue eyes, shuddering breaths, hot teartracks, crying, pain, guilt-_

 _-whimpering, agony, cruel yellow smile, brown eyes glinting sharply with hate, nightmares, panic attacks, hyperventilating, blood on the floor, why is there blood, leering, hisses, promises to hurt, pain, agony, promises, promises-_

 _-had enough, slamming the door, cold air, tears, wondering, should I go back? no, not going back, running off, feet pounding on pavement, deep breaths, don't fall asleep, guard, don't let down your guard-_

 _-torn away, can't make friends, push away, can't take it, loss, guilt, pain, mourning, crying, reaching out, can't help me, help myself, can't help myself, have to help myself, can'tcan'tcan't-_

"Percy?" The voice jolted me back from the memories that were pulling me down, crowding my head, couldn't think, my gods how do I stop them, so many voices, so many coming at once and how do I control it can't control it!

"Help," I whispered unconsciously, digging my fingernails into the skin behind my ears. Squeezing my eyes shut, burning hot liquid at the backs of my eyes. How, I wondered, could there still be tears left in my body after all the crying I had done? I had probably cried more in the last six hours than the last two years.

But why?

Was it because of Annabeth, Annabeth and her golden hair and the way she smiled. I liked that smile, even though I'd never admit it. I liked the way her gray eyes flashes and I liked the way she stuck out her lower lip when I teased her, or insulted her, and the way her cheeks turned red with anger when I had called her 'Blondie.'

Was it because of how Aphrodite treated me? And cared about what happened to me, cared enough to tell all her foster kids about it, cared enough to make me cookies, and even they'd never replace blue cookies, they were still cookies.

Was it simply because I was getting weaker? Had my masks finally worn out?

Or was it the feeling of finally having a family?

 _It's the fourth one,_ a tiny voice in my head whispered. _That's what you want. You want a family._

Shut up, I growled back. I am fine on my own and I do not need a family. What's a family?

 _Don't lie to yourself._

Don't you just hate it when the tiny little voice in your head starts acting up when you're trying to have a serious drama queen moment? I know I do. Because, surprise surprise, it just happened. Yay.

 **Bleh. Done. Can't. Write. More. Or else I will die and this story will never be finished**

 **Octavian: Thank goodness. This story is terrible**

 **Me: *burns all of his teddy bears and various stuffed animals* Say that again.**

 **Octavian: *stares at ashes of teddy bears* NOOOOOOO!**

 **I had to do that sorry**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay guys, just to clarify, I am not quitting this story. I was just quitting the chapter. So...**

 **Welp. Let's get started. Percy's on a date with Annabeth, so I'll do the disclaimer. I own nothing.**

 ***cries in corner***

 **Oh, by the way, did anyone listen to Fall Out Boy's new song? I like it, even though half their fan base doesn't. But I don't care. It's awesome. Plus Imagine Dragons has a new song too! It's also amazing. AND THE SONGS WERE RELEASED ON THE SAME DAY. I HEREBY NAME APRIL 27th THE DAY OF HAPPINESS.**

Annabeth POV

"PERCY!" I shouted at the door, shaking the doorknob furiously. "Open the freaking door!"

There was some incoherent mumbling from inside and I kicked the door furiously. The wood cracked and a splinter lodged in my toe. Hissing, I bent down to take a look at the small cut. Blood was starting to well around the edge.

"Keep kicking the door!" Thalia ordered from beside me, leaning back and swinging her foot as hard as she could into the wood. It splintered, revealing a small hole in the center of the door.

The splinter in my toe forgotten, I pounded the wood with my fists, successfully opening the hole wider. Nico smashed a hammer into the door (where _did_ he get that?) and Jason slammed Mom's favorite cookie tray into the oak wood. I winced. Well, there goes dessert for three weeks.

But this was worth it. It was.

The hole opened wider and wider until the whole door fell off its hinges, and Thalia and I gave the door one last solid kick before swarming into the room.

The wave of people pouring into the room sent me forward stumbling over myself and landing on the bed. Next to me, Thalia pointed at the figure of a person huddled in the corner, hands clenched over their ears and their eyes squeezed shut.

" _Seriously?!"_ I shouted, rounding on Thalia and Nico. "What the heck did you _do_?"

"We didn't do anything!" Thalia said, while Nico added, "What she said."

"Yeah, you did nothing. And that's why he's on the floor, in a _ball,_ while _crying_!" I yelled. My cheeks were burning in anger. "Does that sound like nothing to you, you idiots?"

"Oh, and now you're calling us idiots!" Thalia's face had turned red as well, and her eyes were burning with fury. "No, we're the ones who did this wrong! Ever considered that you're not always the one who's right? No! Because Annabeth is Little Miss Perfect!"

"That is not true!" I spat out, the fire burning brighter and harder. "So just because you made a mistake, you did something wrong, and now, just because I'm calling you out for it, you're telling me that _I'm_ the one who did it wrong?"

" _YES!"_ Thalia shrieked, her eyes murderous. "But no! Like I said, it's always about _you_! You can do no wrong, so obviously it's my fault! And Nico's! He gave us three questions to ask! Three! We asked about pretty much _nothing_ personal! Just the nightmare you discussed with us!"

"Well, obviously it was personal to _him!"_ I yelled back, marching up to Thalia. "Can't you tell anything about emotions! Maybe you didn't pick up on it because you're just too dense, but it has to be personal if he's now _crying in a ball!"_

"Calling me stupid again!" Thalia roared, her cheeks turning even brighter. "Of course! I was too 'dense' to pick up on the fact that he's crying on the floor! Well, maybe I'm not on honor roll, and maybeI'm not the class valedictorian or whatever! Maybe I'm not a straight A student like you, Little Miss Perfect! But I'm _not_ dumb enough to believe that you're actually someone I can _trust_!" She hissed, turning on her heel and storming out of the room.

A minute later, I heard the slam of a door shutting and the click of a lock.

"Finally!" I said angrily, cheeks still flushed from our fight.

Jason, Nico, Leo, and Piper turned to stare at me.

"What?" I demanded, glaring at them all. "She was _totally_ out of line! She didn't even admit that she caused this!"

"No, Annabeth," Nico said quietly, looking at me with dark, shadowed eyes. "She didn't do anything wrong. I did. We asked him what his favorite food was, and he was like, 'Seriously?' And then I said something, but I know I said something about how his parents died. And then he just muttered something and shoved us out."

"Well, still!" I exclaimed, balling my hands into fists. My fingernails cut into my palms, sparks of pain dancing up my arms. "Accusing _me_ of doing this! I literally comforted him! I did nothing wrong!"

Jason just looked at me with his blue eyes, an expression that looked something like pity flickering in them, before taking Piper's hand and leaving.

Nico's stare said everything that didn't come out of his mouth. _It_ was _your fault._

 _No, it wasn't!_ I argued stubbornly. All I had done was tell Nico and Thalia about what had happened. Percy had woken everybody up. Percy was the one whose fault this was.

"It's not Percy's fault either," a quiet voice came from behind me. Leo. "It's something he can't control. Just...trust me on that." And with that, the creaking sound of footsteps on wood told me that Leo had left.

And then, glancing at the corner where Percy had been, I realized that Percy was too.

 **Ok, so normally I don't switch POVs in a chapter because it gets confusing, but I will this time. Just...bear with me. I know this fight is really weird, but it's important to the plot. Very important.**

 **(Nah, I'm just making this up on the fly)**

Percy POV

Loud voices. I did not like loud voices. And so, in the middle of al the fighting and screaming and red cheeks, I slipped in between the shouting girls and into the hallway.

While I was walking as fast as I could down the corridor, the pyro guy, Leo, caught up with me, placing his hand gently on my arm. I stiffened, ready to throw it off, but Leo said something really quickly.

"Look. I know that you barely know me and you don't trust me, but all I wanted to say was that...I guess I kinda know how you feel. Don't run away yet, please," He added, seeing my expression turn cold. "I don't know anything about panic attacks. But...I mean, before this foster home, I was a different one. Twelve different ones, actually. And...they didn't like. Two of those homes were abusive." He rolled up his white sleeve, revealing a thin, pale scar across his bicep. "And...I guess that all I wanted to say was that...you know, I may not understand a lot of what you feel. But if you do need someone to talk to...I'm here. And I'll listen."

I studied him. The look in his brown eyes was earnest and sincere, and I got the feeling he was telling the truth.

Oh, boy.

"I - can we - later?" The words came out jumbled and not like what I was going to say, but Leo seemed to get it. He gave me a small, tentative smile and said, "If you want, you can hide in my room while you wait the fight out. It may take a while."

A tiny smile stretched hesitantly across my lips. "Yeah. That'd be great."

 **Yay! Percy and Leo bonding! Just...cause I guess I thought I was using Thalia, Nico, and Annabeth too much. No worries, next chapter I will get in some Jason + Piper action (meaning they'll finally have a part in this story) and maybe I'll focus more on the friendship part of this fanfic. I mean, I've been doing a lot of PERCABETH, so I was thinking some more friend bonding would be nice.**

 **Okay, so what about you guys? Should I try out some different character POVs? Like maybe Leo POV next time? Oh, and by the way, Hazel and Frank will be introduced, just...give me some time, okay? It's hard to incorporate new characters, keep the old ones developing, and keep the storyline going at the same time. Expect an update maybe in two weeks? I dunno. But still, expect a late update because I really need to do some story outlines for this story.**

 **Oh, and by the way, should I add in Poseidon later or no? I was thinking I could do a dramatic scene where Percy's finally adjusted to living with his new family, and then one day Poseidon shows up, and I could end this book there and continue with a sequel? Of course, the whole story, this book and maybe the sequel, would probably take like a year to complete. So...review and suggest things? Or PM me, either works. I don't mind.**

 **Wow, that was a long AN.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! I'm trying out Leo POV for this chapter, so get ready for some flaming hot Leo McShizzle Valdez. *I wanted to do an emoji here but it wouldn't let me, so just imagine and winky face. You can do it***

 **Okay, so, I own nothing.**

 **WHY DOES IT HURT EVERY TIME I ADMIT IT CURSE YOU UNCLE RICK CURSE YOU!**

 **Okay, I'm fine now. Let's continue.**

Leo POV (in case you didn't read the AN)

"Trust me on that." The words left my lips before I realized it. Annabeth began to turn around, but I was already slipping into the hallway, silently going into my room and closing the door, the slight _snick_ of the lock sounding loud in the quiet hallway.

Turning around, I jumped as I saw Jason, Piper, and Percy perched on my bed. "Oh, um, hey guys!" I said, trying my best to sound cheerful and not like I had suddenly found my room to be bombarded by strange creatures such as Jason and Piper.

What? They're weird.

"Hi," Jason said, although he seemed preoccupied with studying Percy, who was shifting uncomfortably under Jason's intense stare. Piper was giving me the stare, and I did not appreciate that at all.

"Okay, so, um, why are you all in my room?" I asked, fidgeting with a little metal thing I snatched off my desk. "And, uh, I thought only Percy was coming...so..."

"Yeah, me and Pipes just thought it'd be best to take shelter before -" Pounding resonated through the house and Annabeth yelled something, probably at Thalia and Nico.

"Before that." Jason finished, ignoring the pounding. "And -"

"GET OUT!" Thalia's shout echoed through the whole house and could probably be heard in Antarctica. "BEFORE I MAKE YOU!"

"Yeah, see?" Piper said, a small smile twitching the edges of her lips up. Man, those lips - I mean, back on topic here - "We didn't want to mess with -"

"YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Annabeth screamed from outside.

"And since my room and Pipes' room is downstairs, we didn't want to take the risk. Yours was closest to Percy's room, I mean, besides Annabeth's, and, well..." Jason trailed off. "I didn't want to be caught in there."

I nodded, shifting my attention to Percy, who had sat silently at the edge of the bed, looking at his hands. "So, Percy. Um...how's it going?"

Percy let out a snort and met my gaze for a second with his green eyes. "You tell me what's been going on, why dontcha? I only agreed to come because..." he left the end of the sentence unfinished.

"Um, yeah," I said awkwardly. "Jason, Pipes, um, could you guys go downstairs? I mean, this is kind of...private...so..." I trailed off, staring down at the little metal thing. Oh. A little model of a Greek warship. Guess I had made it when I was having trouble sleeping.

Jason and Piper exchanged a look, her kaleidoscopic eyes meeting his blue ones. Their gaze flicked to me and I fidgeted, nearly breaking the mast off the little ship. "Okay," Piper said at last, which surprised me. "But just let us hide out a little bit longer? Annabeth isn't nice when she's -"

"OPEN THE DOOR, THALIA!" Annabeth's voice roared from outside, in the hall. Jason winced and covered his ears. I sighed and relented. "Whatever, guys. Just don't mess up my stuff, okay? 'Cause if you do, I will hunt you down with a flaming hammer and stuff it up your -"

"Thank you, that's enough out of you," Piper interrupted. "Now, why don't we all reintroduce ourselves? I'm Piper McLean, and you can call me Pipes if you want. But if you don't want to, please don't. I prefer Piper."

"Um, Piper, I don't think we need to reintroduce ourselves," I said nervously, watching the expression on Percy's face and remembering how stupid and useless a bunch of the foster homes had made me feel by 'reintroducing' themselves as if I couldn't understand them the first time.

She caught the look I was throwing her way and shut up, her eyes flicking to me to Percy and back again. "Yeah, okay. I'll just...go now. Jason, come with? I think Annabeth stopped yelling."

Jason nodded and stood up, following Piper out the door and gently shutting it behind him.

"So..." I said once those two were gone. "Let's just make a deal," I suggested. "I'll tell you about myself and you tell me about yourself. Simple and easy."

Percy nodded. "But only if you go first."

I blew a lock of hair out of my eyes. "Okay, let's see...well, I had a situation a bit like yours. My dad left my mom, but she never remarried. She died in a fire when I was seven or eight," ( **I don't know exactly when Leo's mom died, so...)** I paused. "I had an aunt too. AuntRosa. She could've taken me in, but she thought I was a pyromaniac, and so she left me in Social Services."

Bile rose in my throats and rage flared in my chest at the thought of Aunt Rosa. Fighting it back down, I swallowed my fierce anger and kept going. "I, um, bounced around for a while. I had eight foster homes. The first two were perfectly fine. They were kind of...strange, but they didn't really, you know, abuse me. The third one was two alcoholics. The husband, um, one night, he got mad, and he threw a beer bottle at me. The glass, um, cut me," I swallowed and brushed aside my bangs, revealing the thin white lines. "The rest of the homes were fine, except for the seventh one. The wife there had anger issues, and the husband worked late. One night, the wife, um, she just got ahold of a knife and just sort of...got mad at me for no good reason. She gave me this," I rolled up my sleeve again, showing him the scar, "and this," I pulled my shirt up a bit to expose another pale white line on my stomach.

Percy snorted. "You think that's a lot?" He took off his jacket and I nearly fainted at the sight of his arms. Tangled white lines, twisting and knotting over the tan skin of his arm. Some looked faintly like letters or numbers, and others were simply lines. Hardly any of them were straight.

"What the *censor censor beep beep hey guys what's up I'm just censoring all this stuff. How're you doing? If you even read this far I'm impressed* is wrong with your stepfather?" I demanded. "Okay, I get that he's on drugs. I get he's drunk and crazy, but this is just..." I gestured weakly at Percy's body. "I don't even..."

Percy shrugged and pulled his jacket back on, looking down self-consciously. "It...um...it wasn't all Gabe, you know."

"I mean, that *still censoring here Gods of Olympus Leo stop cursing I'm bored of censoring ooh look a squirrel* is such a *yawn hey guys I'm back. You've been seeing a lot of the censor thing haven't you?* How did that *urgh short censor here* even get born?" I said angrily, clenching my fists into balls. I might not've known Percy very well, but any *just keep censoring, just keep censoring* who would do that to an innocent child was my enemy.

"Hey!" Percy interrupted, waving his hand in my face. "It wasn't all Gabe, you know."

"It...wasn't?" I asked, bewildered. "Then...who did...that?" I muttered, glancing at Percy's fabric-covered arms. "And...just a question, but the AC's broken in this room. How are you not hot?"

"I don't have to tell you," Percy said quietly, a hint of steel lacing the edges of his tone. "Look, great convo, but I gotta go. Have fun in here." He got up and quickly opened the door and slipped through. It clicked shut behind him and I heard the nearly silent sound of footsteps running down the hall.

 **Sorry about the late update, I got the flu last Monday (urgh) and I could barely even walk without wanting to throw up. So this was out of the question. Anywho, next chapter will explain lots of weird things (like why Aphrodite and Tristan haven't called the cops yet) and probably get some more Piper and Jason character development in. So, yeah! Have a great day y'all!**


	14. Chapter 14

**WASSUP, DUDES AND DUDETTES? Ok, so my school year's ending (squeeeee!) and I'm pumped up on three Fun Dips, four packs of Oreos, and three Snickers bars right now. Oh, and a donut hole. So I'm really frickin' hyper. Now, I highly doubt any of you actually know me. (If you do I may classify you as a creepy stalker) but anyways, I'm normally hyper. And the two cups of coffee probably didn't help. So it is 11:34 PM as I type this word, and I am still bouncing around my room (not literally). Well, kind of literally. Does bouncing one bed count?**

 **So, anyways, Disclaimer, I own nothing, screw you Rick, same old same old, llamas (just checking to see if you were reading)**

Piper POV (yay Pipes!)

Jason and I slipped downstairs, and of course, halfway down we saw Mom coming up in a fuzzy pink bathrobe, her hair tied up in a messy ponytail. Her kaleidoscopic eyes (just like mine) had dark circles around them.

"Hey there," I said awkwardly, giving a little wave. "Um, lots of stuff is happening, so...actually, I suggest you go find Annabeth. She can explain most of it. And I think she's probably cooled down by -"

"THALIA WHATEVER-YOUR-LAST-NAME-IS GRACE, OPEN THIS *beep hey Tori Chase I'm your best friend too*ING DOOR!" Annabeth roared. I winced and covered my ears. Aphrodite looked at me, then at Jason, then at the top of the stairs, and then back at me.

"Why is Annabeth asking Thalia to open the door?" She asked tiredly, running a hand through her hair. I shifted awkwardly on my feet. "Uh..."

"Long story," Jason cut in. "Seriously, if we're going to talk about it, we should do it somewhere private. I'm not sure the middle of the staircase -"

"GET OUT OF HERE ANNABETH ATHENA CHASE!" Thalia yelled. Aphrodite glanced at the top of the stairs again. "Yeah, um, I think that's a great idea."

 **Line-breeeeaaaakkk paaaarrrrrrrtttttaaaaayyyyyyy TACOS ALPACAS FURRY RAINDROPS MAGAZINES!**

"...and so that happened, and all I know is that Percy was shouting and suddenly everyone was breaking down the door. So...I may or may not have grabbed your favorite cookie tray, you know, the pink one, and I may or may not have used it to smash down the door. And the said cookie tray may or may not now have a huge dent in the center," Jason finished, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling embarrassedly. "Sorry?"

Aphrodite sighed. "We can get another one. No big deal. So you said that you two were sleeping, and then suddenly Percy yelled, after you heard Nico and Thalia talking with Annabeth. So you two came out and you broke down the door -"

"And then we saw Percy in a ball in the corner, and Annabeth shouted at Thalia that it was all her fault, and they had this huge fight, and now Annabeth wants to...I don't even know. So anyways, everyone left after the argument, and me and Jason took shelter in Leo's room. But, uh, Percy was in there too, and soon Leo came in, and they said it'd be best if we left, so we left, and then we came down here, bumped into you, and then you asked -" I said. Aphrodite cut me off.

"Okay, I know the rest. I'm going to go check on Percy and Annabeth, and I need to see if I can get Thalia out of her room. And hey - what happened to Nico?" Mom asked, getting up and smoothing the front of her bathrobe down.

"Um..." I exchanged a glance with Jason. We both shrugged at the same time. "I have no idea," I said, just asJason said, "Maybe he went to the bathroom."

Mom shrugged. "Okay. And by the way, Dad had to fly out to California to finalize his movie deal. He'll be back in a few weeks, but for now it's just me and you kids. Wait, sorry, I meant _grown teenagers_." She added, after seeing the look on my face at being called a kid. Behind me, Jason chuckled softly.

We followed Mom up the stairs as she knocked quietly on Leo's door. It took a few moments, but Leo came to the door and opened it, rubbing his eyes blearily. "Yeah?" Catching sight of Mom, he said quickly, "If this is about those fireworks, I swear I didn't realize that they would blow up right above the ground. Or that they would blow up the toaster. But I swear that it was for scientific purposes only."

Mom chuckled. "No, it's not about the fireworks. Seriously though, never do that again, or I will take away literally every match or remotely flammable object you own. Yes, even your clothes."

Leo turned pale, although I personally thought that he'd quite like that, especially if Annabeth, me, Hazel, or some other hot girl were in the room with him. I know, I'm hot and proud. "Ah. So, what exactly is this about then? Cause I really want to sleep now." Leo said, his hand twitching towards the doorknob.

I edged closer to the door and motioned for Jason to follow. Mom took a deep breath and smoothed down her bathrobe again. I rolled my eyes in the shadows. Seriously? She looked fine, why was she always so obsessed with her looks?

"It's about Percy."

 **Li-I-I-I iiiiiiiiiiiine breeeeeeaaaaaa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-kkkkkk! I know, I'm a great opera singer.**

 **Hey guess what guys? POV SWITCH! Woohooo! We're going to Percy POV. Next chapter may be Annabeth or Jason. Possibly even Aphrodite. Just giving you a heads up.**

Percy POV (READ THE BOLD GUYS)

I ran past my room and completely ignored it. I would've hidden in it about an hour ago, but the door had been completely destroyed and the remains were handing by barely a hinge, which meant no shelter, no protection, and no privacy. Yes, I know shelter and protection are the same thing. That's how important it is to me.

Stopping near Annabeth's room, I cautiously peeked in, making sure nobody was inside, and then, seeing that Annabeth was gone, I crept into the room, flicking the light switch on and closing the door silently behind me. The lock did _not_ click into place like I was used to it doing (stupid lock)and so I turned back, ready to lock the door.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Annabeth's voice outside, in the hallway, startled me into jumping about ten feet into the air. With fumbling fingers, I quickly locked the door and collapsed on Annabeth's bed, breathing hard and with my heart beating at about a million miles an hour.

Her owl-shaped gray pillow pressed against my back, against the f*cking scars that were still there. I shuddered, remembering how secure I felt around Leo. It was weird, because he wasn't abused like I was. Well, he wasn't _as_ abused. But still. I digress.

Anywho, he didn't know what panic attacks felt like at all. He didn't understand most of the stuff I had been through.

But I had still taken off my jacket in front of him. I had revealed my most shocking scars. Except for my back, of course, but that was my biggest rule. If I had written for myself the Ten Commandments, not showing off my back would be first on the list. Next would be always getting blue cookies when available. Third would probably be...nevermind. I don't think about this.

Not being able to really show off my back or arms pretty much meant no swimming for me. That was probably the worst thing about the scars, because even if I wore a swim shirt or something, I'd still show off my arms. Honestly, I wasn't comfortable with wearing a pair of shorts, let alone just swim trunks.

And I loved swimming. Before Gabe, my mom would take me to Montauk. I loved Montauk. The wet sand pressing against my legs when I sat down, the cool waves lapping against my calves, and the heat of the sun as it beat down on my back.

I remembered once, when I was maybe three, my mom had taken me to Montauk, one of our last trips there. We had stayed up until about ten, eating blue cookies and laughing with each other on the sofa, spilling crumbs everywhere. Just thinking about it made a lump come to my throat, and hot liquid pricked the backs of my eyes. Pressing my lips together, I forced my mind onto a different topic.

Popcorn.

Butter, and...um...cheese...and, hey, does anyone actually put cheese on popcorn? Or...how about pepperoni? Nah, pepperoni on popcorn sounds icky. Um...I know there's butter on popcorn.

But eventually, even though popcorn is really interesting *cough* no it isn't *cough cough*, I got bored and my mind switched back to the topic of Leo.

He seemed nice enough, and definitely honest. The few things I didn't like about him was his willingness to tell me his secrets, like his scars on his forehead and everything. I could tell he had bangs for a reason, the same reason I wore my jacket. To cover up the scars. So why would someone who purposefully grew out their hair to _cover_ something reveal that covered something to a (pretty much) complete stranger?

All I knew was that if I was in Leo's place, I would not have been comfortable sharing all that stuff. I mean, I'd shown him my arms, but still. That didn't mean I'd told him who had done it. Most of it was Gabe, but some of it was...me, and I didn't need or want anyone to find out.

I shuddered slightly, remembering Leo's forceful anger at seeing the scars. He had definitely let out enough curses to make a pirate blush, and if he got that angry at Gabe because he thought Gabe did that to me...well, I didn't know how angry he'd be if he found out _I_ did a part of it. He'd probably never accept me again, and probably regret everything he'd said to me about his foster homes and his past life, before this house. He might even run away so he wouldn't have to live with me. I wouldn't want to live with me.

And then, me being me, after all, my mind once again switched topic.

Annabeth's pillows were really soft, I noted, relaxing into them. I didn't know what it was about them, but it felt like I could just...fall asleep. I yawned, resting my head back on a pillow. Man, Annabeth's bed was comfy.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway and I stiffened, ready to dart out of Annabeth's bed and straight into her closet, which was open. Oh. It was open. Well, wasn't that great. Hopefully, Annabeth hadn't left any...intimate clothing hanging out there in the ope - crap.

I looked away from the closet, trying to erase the mental image of a bra and a pair of panties hung right out there in the open. Did Annabeth have no shame? What if Jason or Leo just walked in, and her closet was open?

The footsteps paused outside my room, probably inspecting the poor remains of what used to be the door (I will forever mourn you, door. You shall not be forgotten. YOUR LOSS SHALL NOT BE IN VAIN!), and then they moved on, to Annabeth's room. The room I was currently in.

My muscles tensed as the footsteps got closer to the door. Closer...and closer...and closer...

Several things happened in that moment.

Number one: Annabeth shrieked something from outside in the hallway, nearly causing me to scream.

Number two: I darted into Annabeth's closet, heart pounding with suspense.

Number three: The door handle turned slowly. Whoever was there must have a key to the locked door.

Number four: A gray bra fell on my head and covered my eyes.

Number five: The door opened and a girl stepped in, a silver key clutched tightly in her left hand.

And number six: I screamed and threw the gray bra right into Piper's face.

 **Hey guys what's up? Sorry about the bra stuff. If it makes you uncomfortable (I know it makes me uncomfortable) you can just skip this chapter. So, quick update? Yepperdoodles! Hey, I just made up a word!**

 **Okay, back in topic. So, you guys have been AMAZING at reviewing and supporting this story, so I'mma test you guys. I shall not update until we receive eighty reviews. If we get eighty in one week, I will do a double update in one day. C'mon you guys! We can do it!**

 **Oh, BTW, I will start writing the next chapter right after I post this, but I will not _post_ the chapter till I get eighty reviews. All clear? Hooray!**

 **Oh, and PS, which POV do you want next chapter? And do you want me to focus on the Percy-Leo friendship, Percabeth, Jason-Piper-Percy friendship, or maybe even Thalia-Annabeth making up? And what POV do you want? Oh man, I've set up tons of little mini-stories here. We've got Percy throwing the bra in Piper's face, which is the main storyline right now, Annabeth and Thalia's fight, Leo and Percy kind-of friendship, Jason and Piper with Aphrodite, trying to explain everything, and Nico, who is somewhere. Actually, I think I may have forgotten about him.**

 **Oopsies.**


	15. Chapter 15

**My god, you guys are too fans at reviewing! I posted the chapter, like, a day ago, and now I literally have 77 reviews. Wow.**

 **So here we go!**

 **Oh, BTW, I'm trying out a Thalia POV. I know most of you wanted PERCABETH, and it will come eventually, okay, but right now I'm kind of stuck. I mean, how am I supposed to be PERCABETH if Annabeth if presently shouting at Thalia and Percy is throwing bras in Piper's face?**

 **So, I'm starting with Thalia-Annabeth making up, then next chapter probably Percy-Piper-Jason-Aphrodite awkward explaining about bras, then they'll all meet (damn maybe next next chapter should be Nico POV so I can explain where the frick he's been these past chapters) and PERCABETH shall commence. Yes? Yes.**

Thalia POV

"Come on Thals, just open the door," Annabeth said from outside. Hot rage bubbled in my chest. She wanted me to let her in after she had fricking called me an idiot, said everything was my fault, and acted like a Perfect Miss Sunshine, _again_?

"Uh, let me think, NO!" I said angrily. "First, you call me stupid. Then you say everything is my fault. All you ever do is act like a Perfect Little Picture of Perfection. I've put up with it for as long as I've known you, but this is taking it too far. I am NOT opening this door, and if I have my way, I will NEVER open it again."

"Thals, please." Her tone was pleading, almost begging, really. "I swear, I didn't mean anything from it, I was just...I was angry, and scared, and I just thought that something really bad had happened. I guess that I was too proud to admit anything, and I wanted everyone to blame someone else, just not me. I promise I never meant to hurt you, I just felt like I had to keep on being perfect so I blamed you, and it was wrong, and I was stupid to do it, and I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry, and I completely understand if you don't forgive me." She took a deep, shuddering breath. Was she _crying_?

"I was a terrible friend, and a terrible person, and I just wanted to say that face to face, but it's fine if you don't want to, I just thought you had to know that I know I was being horrible, and way too arrogant, and just a terrible human being. And I'm so so sorry, I really am." Annabeth finished, her breaths shaky and uneven.

My hand rested indecisively on the doorknob. On the one hand, I really wanted to shut her out and show her how much of an incredible brat she could be when she was being proud and arrogant.

And then I realized that, if I did that, I would be worse than proud and arrogant. I would be cruel and unforgiving, and one of those evil supervillains you read about in books like Harry Potter. And this time, I knew that Annabeth had truly seen how arrogant she could be.

So I unlocked the door and swung it open, revealing a crying Annabeth in the other side.

 **Linebreak! Linebreaks everywhere! So, we're gonna finally figure out that Nico is missing in this chapter ;). I don't even know where he went...**

 **Jason POV now by the way.**

Jason POV

Leo fidgeted uncomfortably. "What about Percy?"

"Well, Piper and Jason told me that after Annabeth and Thalia's fight, Percy ran into your room. That's...that's what happened, right?" Mom asked, studying Leo carefully. Leo twitched slightly.

"Um, yep. Yep. Yep, that's what happened. So? Why is this important?" Leo asked, carefully keeping a straight face. I watched him from the top of the staircase, Piper right next to me.

"Well, we were just wondering what happened. 'Cause after that, Piper and Jason left your room. But you and Percy stayed in there longer, right? So I was just going to ask what you two talked about." Mom said evenly.

Leo suddenly grew hostile. "Look, lady, I don't have to tell you anything. The stuff we discussed is something Percy probably wouldn't want me to tell you, and I don't want to break his trust. So whatever you're doing, leave me out of it."

"Okay, Leo, listen to me," I said, stepping out from behind the banister. Mom jumped, looking like she'd had a heart attack. "Jason! What on earth are you doing here and - Piper, where'd you come from?"

Piper and I smiled bashfully. "Um, yeah, well, we followed you because we wanted to know about Percy too." I said. "Let me talk to Leo."

"Uh, no," Mom said. "Look, this is serious stuff. I don't want you two to have to hear any of it. It's not pleasant, and I don't want to expose you to this kind of stuff now."

"You can't keep babying me!" Piper exploded. "I'm _not_ three! I know what child abuse is! I know what sexual abuse is! And I don't want to be treated like I don't, because if you don't tell me, I'll sneak into Leo's room in the middle of the night and _make_ him tell me!"

"Piper, stop for just a sec, okay?" I muttered in her ear. "Let me try to deal with this. If it doesn't work, yell all you want, but for now, just let me see if I can reason with her."

"Well...okay," Piper hissed. "But only because it sounds better to reason with her."

"Look, Mom," I said, pausing quickly. "I know you're worried about us, and you don't want us to know this stuff. But Percy is _our_ family too. He's not just your adopted son, he's _our_ adopted brother. And we want to know. Me and Piper want to help. And if you won't let us, we'll find our own way to. I haven't known Percy for very long, or really at all, but I think he's honestly a good person. And I want to get to know that good person inside, and I can't if you won't at least let me listen. Let _all_ of us listen."

"Hey, have you all forgotten that I'm _not_ telling you anything?" Leo asked from behind Mom. "Percy isn't a mystery to be figured out. He's a real live person, who doesn't want or need you all prying into his business."

"And that's where you have it wrong, Leo," Piper said, stepping forward. "I know he's a real live person. I know he isn't just a mystery. He might not want our help, but no matter how much he denies it, he _does_ need it. Keeping secrets is hard, and eventually, the secret will break you. Do you want to see that happen to Percy?"

Leo started to say something, but Piper cut him off. "I know you don't want to betray his trust. But it's not just about you and him now. It's about him, and only him. Percy _needs_ to be able to love again. Right now, I can tell that he's scared, and lonely, and he doesn't want to love again, he doesn't want to let anyone in again, because he's afraid. He doesn't want to be left behind. Like...like his mom left him behind when she...passed on." Piper's voice cracked slightly, but she continued on. "If there's one thing I learned during all this, it's that humans need love. Not to survive, but to _live."_

Leo took a deep breath. "I know. So all of you, come on in. Yes, Jason and Piper _included_." Leo added, shooting Mom a glare. "They come in too, or you get nothing at all out of me."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes, but she followed Piper and I as we trooped into Leo's room.

 **Guys, what is _wrong_ with you all? You got me 81 reviews in a little over a day! So...I will do a double update today (or at least I'll try ;p. It might be a little late), but our next goal is...100 reviews! I mean, it can't be that hard, right?**

 **WOO WOO! LET'S GET TO HUNDRED BABY!**

 **Kthxbye gotta go write the next chapter :O. Help! Too much writing!**


	16. Chapter 16

***pant pant* AAH! Guys, my writing muscles are being overexerted here! Two chapters in three hours...I got this! I got this!**

 **Disclaimer Idon'townPJOlemmestartwritingnowkthxbye!**

Annabeth POV (yay Annie's back)

I desperately tried to hold back the tears, but it didn't work. I burst out sobbing right in the middle of my big apology, but I still kept plowing forward.

I didn't remember much about the speech, but after I finished, and was still crying out in the middle of the hallway, the door slowly swung open, revealing a sad-looking Thalia. She was rubbing at her eyes, smearing her eyeliner, but for once I really didn't care.

Tackling her in a huge hug, I managed to knock her onto her bed. She gasped for breath under me. "Wow Annie, you missed me this much? I was only mad for, like, twenty minutes."

"And that's twenty minutes too much," I said, letting go of her and sitting cross legged on her bed. "I-I really am sorry, you know. And...I hope I didn't hurt you too much."

"Naw, I'm fine," Thalia said, grinning widely. "I just wanted a nice sincere apology, and maybe a little share of your bacon tomorrow morning?"

I grinned back at her, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Fine, fine, I'll give you...three strips of bacon. Okay?"

"Whoa," Thalia said, her eyes widening. "That's a lot of bacon. You're feeling generous aren't you, Annie?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "But listen, Thalia, there's a lot more to it. When you yelled at me back in Percy's room and left, I honestly sort of saw a life without you and your craziness in it, and I really didn't want that. You're the best friend I could ever have, and definitely a great foster sister too. I just wanted you to know that whenever I call you stupid from now on, you have the right to call me an idiotic gym sock, and you'll get a piece of my bacon. Because...I mean, I loved my parents, and I still do, but a life without you...without everyone in this house...I don't think it'd be a life worth living."

"Aw, Annie," Thalia said. "I'll say something mushy too, if you promise not to tell anyone."

I giggled. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Well...I just wanted to say that even though you're an arrogant bitch sometimes, when you're not, you're a great person. You honestly are smart, you're funny, you're not a person who makes the same dumb mistake twice, you're compassionate, and you always care about your family and friends. I guess...I guess that I realized that too, and I saw that even though you do slip up sometimes, that's not a bad thing." Thalia said honestly. "And while we're at the mushy stuff, I think you're awesome."

"Hey, what about me?" A voice interrupted. I looked behind me, and of course, I saw the one and only goth boy who's a mushy romcom lover at heart, Nico di Angelo.

(Fine, maybe he doesn't love romcom. Who cares? It's a great introduction.)

 **Ok...back to Jason, Pipes, Aphrodite, and Leo. Whose POV? Piper's. You'll see why soon enough...*evil laugh***

Piper POV

We filed into Leo's room and sat down, Jason on the floor, Leo on a chair, and Mom and I in the bed. Leo shifted slightly, with the weight of three people's curious, expectant gazes, and I prepared myself mentally for what I was about to hear.

"Well, after the fight between Thalia and Annabeth..." Leo trailed off. "Hey, I wonder what happened with them. I haven't heard shouting for a while."

"Leo, focus," Mom said. "Tell the story? Please?"

"Right, right," Leo nodded. "So the fight happened, and I realized that Percy had been in the middle of it. But he was gone when I looked for him, so I went out into the hallway to search. I found him, he agreed to meet me in here, and I went back to talk to Annabeth."

"Well, when I got into my room and locked the door, I saw Jason and Pipes on the bed, and Percy was in here too. So we talked for a bit, and then I kinda kicked Jason and Pipes out because Percy and I really needed to talk about...something."

"Yeah, what were you talking about?" Jason pressed. Leo shot him an annoyed look. "I'm getting there, O Master if Patience. Give me a sec, will you? I'm trying to build up SUSPENSE!"

"So anyways," Leo continued. "Jason and Pipes left, and me and Percy were alone. So I made a deal with him: He'd tell me about his past if I told him about mine."

"Why you?" I interrupted. "Why not Jason's past, or Annabeth's past, or Thalia's? Or somebody else's?"

Leo shifted uncomfortably. "I'm getting there."

"So, he agreeed, but only if I went first. So I told him about my mom, and Aunt Rosa," Leo swallowed, and I could tell he was trying to contain his anger. "And the foster homes. I even showed him the scars I got from the foster homes."

"Hold up," Aphrodite said. "I know your foster homes were abusive, but how do you have scars?"

I groaned. I'd forgotten how, months ago, Leo had revealed his scars to _us_ , the kids, and not Mom or Dad. Well, frick. We'd be spending time listening to Leo's tale of woe again. Not that it wasn't sad, but I really wanted to find Percy and help him.

"Yes, I do. But for now let's keep going on the subject of Percy, shall we?" Leo asked. "We shall. So I showed him the scars, and he took of this jacket. You know, the leather one he always wears?" We all nodded.

"Well, he wears it for a reason. He's got..." Leo trailed off, his gaze distant, as if reliving that moment or trying to figure out how to explain this to us. "He's got, like, this net, of scars, and there are just so, so many of them...way too many of them. It's just _wrong_. Teenagers shouldn't look like they've been in so many fights that their whole body is basically scars."

"This is...that *guys did you miss me? The censor thing is back! Yaaay!*! Who would do something like that to an _innocent child?_ " I stormed, getting up off the bed and stomping around Leo's room. "What kind of *woohoo! I'm back! And Tori Chase, aww, that means so much! Not many people actually _value_ the censor* is so fucking messed up that they do that to their stepson?"

 **I feel so weird, I haven't typed the f word a lot in a while and it feels weird**

"Language," Mom said weakly, but I could tell she wasn't really listening. Jason, instead of getting up and punching a hole straight through the wall, was staring, white-faced, at Leo.

"Okay, I'm going to go find Percy right now and tell him about what a *hey guys wassup! If you can guess these song lyrics, you will get a shoutout in the next chapter, because reasons. Here they are. _If we go down, then we go down together_. Start guessing* his stepfather is," I said, marching over to the door and punching it for good measure.

"Wait," Aphrodite said. "No, we aren't just doing that. Piper, you can go find Percy, but please bring him into Leo's room. Jason, can you get Thalia? And Leo, could you get Nico? I'll try to get Annabeth, and when we're all ready, we can meet in here and...talk about things, alright?"

We all nodded and stood up. I was the first one through the doors, and of course, in my quest for Percy, I started at Percy's room.

His door looked really beaten up, I noted, poking a shard of wood gently. Yup, we're going to be needing a new door.

I peeked into his room and sort of looked around, pulled up the bed covers, tried my best not to look into the closet, checked the bathroom, and looked at the ceiling to make sure he hadn't become Spider-Man and stuck to the ceiling. My search amounted to exactly zero clues and zero Percy's.

Leaving the room, I stepped back out into the hallway and studied Annabeth's door. Well, since the yelling had stopped, maybe Annabeth was in her room. And if I could get Annabeth and Percy, that'd be fine.

I stepped closer to the door and twisted the doorknob. Locked. I silently cursed and fumbled around in my pocket for the house key. The lock for our front door was the same as all the other rooms in the house, but mostly everyone always left their house key at home, since the back door was always unlocked. But I kept mine in my pocket at all times.

Pulling the key out of my pocket, I managed to unlocked the door and slowly twisted the doorknob. It slid open easily, and I stepped inside, spotting a figure hiding in Annabeth's open closet.

The person - oh, it was Percy - saw me, screamed, and somehow threw a gray bra in my face.

I spluttered and pulled it off, throwing it back at Percy. He shrieked and leaped out of the way, but somehow his jacket sleeve got caught on a clothes hanger and he ended up ripping his jacket off.

And that's when I caught sight of his bare arms.

 **Haha I bet you all thought I'd end at the part where Piper gets a bra in her face nope I didn't well this is a long run on sentence ah well who cares it's just a AN. So we're going to Nico's POV. THE LAST PART IS SHORT**

Nico POV

I stood in Thalia's doorway, watching Thalia and Annabeth compliment each other, and then, when Thalia was done talking, I spoke up. "What about me?"

Annabeth turned around, and, seeing me, she broke into a huge grin. "Hi Nico! I was wondering where you went, come here you dope! Where have you been all this time?"

"Well...doing, um, stuff," I said. The computer screen flashed past my mind, the screen displaying wanted criminals in the area. "I think you want to know this, but, um...you know Percy's dad?"

Annabeth and Thalia nodded slowly. "Well...he was jailed three years ago. But now...he's broken out. And the prison guards at night have heard him talking to himself." I took a deep breath. "I think he's escaped to find Percy."

 **How did this happen? I don't know, I was thinking of why Nico was gone and then I went Oh! Of course he's on the computer, searching for Gabe Ugliano, and he comes across the wanted criminals page where Gabe is displayed as having broken out. Yay! I miss the good old days though...when I could still write happy chapters full of humor and not sadness, anger, mystery, and the censor thing.**

 **PS - Next chapter, do you want to see Annabeth and Thalia's reaction to Nico, Piper's reaction to Percy's scars, or go on with Jason? Ooh, how about Jason walks in on Nico explaining the whole Gabe thing to Annabeth and Thalia?**

 **Well, review and see if you can suggest a few things, and then maybe help me with** **the POV next chapter. Nico, Thalia, Aphrodite, Annabeth, Percy, Piper, or Jason?**

 **PPS - A hundred reviews for the next chapter to be posted, guys! We can do it! Yay cheer yay!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey, y'all.**

 **Well, the cliffhanger was cruel last chapter, I admit. But...I wasn't even planning for it to happen! I haven't drawn an outline for this story, I don't know when I'll end it...but I think that this is going to turn out to be EPIC.**

 **So, everyone, I have more song lyrics for you! Ready?**

 ** _I'mma say all the words inside my head, I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been_**

 **If you can guess song title and the writer/performer, I'll bring in Percy next chapter and have you all say hi to him and Annabeth.**

 **Shoutouts from last chapter go to:**

 **No. 1 Crystal Collision**

 **No. 2 Aukos**

 **No. 3 RandomPerson8421 (Guest)**

 **The song was indeed Paris, by the Chainsmokers. I love the Chainsmokers! Has anyone heard their song, "All we know?" I love it! And it's stuck in my head now...**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **And thank you so much Death Fury. *virtual hugs* Sorry, I'm just so happy because before you reviewed, I was stuck, and I was literally just thinking: Useless. Empty. Brain. But then you reviewed and told me what you wanted, and the storyline is taking shape in my head!**

 **So, once again, THANKS!**

 **Let's get started!**

Third person POV (first time I've done this but I'll try it out)

Piper's mouth hung open like a fish's. Percy glanced down, as if he hadn't noticed the fact that his jacket had come off, and then immediately sort of wrapped his arms around himself in a poor attempt to hide the scars.

"Oh my..." Piper trailed off, her gaze seemingly stuck to the white lines littering Percy's arms. "I...I didn't realize..."

Percy looked around wildly for his jacket and snatched it off the clothes hanger, quickly slipping into it and giving Piper a scowl. The effect was kind of ruined, though, by the pure fear in his eyes, as though he was afraid Piper wouldn't accept him anymore.

Piper's breath hitched in her throat (my god why does throat keep turning into threat or throats?) and she felt hot tears burn her eyes. Stubbornly holding back the tears, she managed to choke out, "Who...why...how...who did that?"

"Why should I tell you?" Percy snapped, wrapping his arms even tighter around himself. "Look, can you just go the fuck away and leave me alone? Just forget you saw anything, and skip right back to your mommy. Feel lucky you can even _imagine_ doing that."

Piper drew back in surprise. "I - I just wanted to help. But..." She hesitated, debating about whether she should tell Percy about Leo explaining everything to them, them being her, Jason, and Aphrodite. "But I already know that Gabe did all of that. Anyways, right now it's more important that we all get together. Mom told me to get you."

Percy seemed to curl into himself even more at what Piper said. "Well, what if I don't want to listen to _your_ mom? Because newsflash: She's not _my_ mom, and she never will be. And..." He cut himself off. Percy seemed to arguing with himself about something. A flash of doubt passed through his eyes. He took a deep breath.

"And?" Piper prompted, giving him a curious stare. "And what?"

"And none of your business." Percy scowled, pulling his jacket tighter around himself and stalking out of the room.

 **Okay y'all, I'm staying in third-person, but I'm going to kind of lean more towards Nico and Jason. Okay? Okay.**

Nico took a deep breath. The image of Gabe Ugliano's face was still burned into his retinas. He could only think of the criminals page, and he could only try to calm down the rapidly blossoming fear expanding in his chest.

Annabeth and Thalia just stared at him in shock, their eyes wide with fear and horror. Annabeth was the first one to speak. "Which father? Biological, or stepfather?"

Nico almost laughed. Typical Annabeth, focusing on the facts and statistics rather than the sheer horror of the situation enveloping her. Of course Annabeth would use the cold, hard truth to anchor herself, to make sure she didn't get swept away by tides of emotion.

"Uh, hm, I bet it's biological! I mean, it's not like Percy's stepfather abused him, murdered Percy's mother, and probably got more than a few DUI's!" Thalia said, her voice harsh. Annabeth drew back, and Thalia immediately looked remorseful. "I - I'm sorry, Annabeth. I'm just...I can't believe that after...after everything...now Percy has to deal with this too."

"I know," Annabeth growled. "It makes me _so MAD!"_ She turned around and rammed her fist into the wall. Nico and Thalia watched her in amazement. When Annabeth drew her fist back, there was a hand-shaped indent in the plaster wall.

"Uh...I get the feeling that I don't want to know, but...why is Annabeth suddenly enemies with the wall? And...what makes her so mad? 'Cause I don't think the wall is capable of making Annabeth that angry." Jason said, leaning against the doorframe.

"Oh!" Thalia gasped. "Uh, hey there, li'l bro! Um...what's up?" Her voice was a few octaves above its normal pitch, and it shook just a tiny little bit. But Jason could read Thalia like an open book. And he knew that Thalia wasn't capable of keeping secrets from him anymore. Not after that day.

Jason grimaced slightly, remembering that day. He had been about...seven, he guessed, and Thalia probably ten? Eleven? Eh, he didn't remember the details that clearly. But he still recalled a nice lady, blonde, with pretty blue eyes, bending down and asking Thalia, "Hey there, sweetie. Would you like to come live with me?"

He also remembered Thalia looking at over at young Jason and saying quietly, "Can my brother come too?"

The lady had frowned slightly at Jason's disheveled appearance and said, "Honey, would it be okay if I only took you?"

Thalia had looked back and forth, between the lady and Jason, like a toddler forced to choose between candy or toys. Her lower lip stuck out slightly, as though she was trying to decide without somehow hurting someone.

Finally, after Jason had held his breath for about five minutes, Thalia had turned to the lady and said, "No, thank you. I'll stay here with my brother."

Warmth had exploded in Jason's chest as Thalia got up and gave him a hug, tousling his blond locks and glaring fiercely at the lady. "It's all or none, lady."

Jason had grinned up at her, showing off his two missing front teeth, and returned the hug, burrowing deeper into Thalia's jacket. Thalia had laughed and the lady had stood there, a mixture of disappointed and angry.

"Oh...well, fine!" And then the golden-haired lady had gotten up, scowling, picked up her purse, and walked out, her lacy skirt swirling with the movement.

Nico's voice shook him out the memory and Jason blinked once, twice, his eyes focusing on Nico as the other boy began to talk.

"Yeah," Nico said convincingly. "We were just talking about how we're not getting dessert for a while. Did you _have_ to use the cookie tray, Jason? Really? I mean, come _on!_ Couldn't you have waited until Mom made cookies tonight, at least?"

Nico was smart, and a good liar, Jason noted. Jason himself might've believed that that was what the threesome had been talking about, except for the fact that Annabeth said, "We were just talking about Dad going to California," at the same time.

Annabeth and Nico exchanged a glare while Jason smirked at the two of them. "Next time you're discussing something super-secret, why don't you come up with a good cover story before trying to use two different ones to cover it up?"

"Okay, okay, you caught us," Nico said defeatedly, running a hand through his hair. "Um...you know Percy's _step_ father?" Jason nodded, confused. What did that abusive *see the censor thing always comes back* have to do with this? And why did Nico put so much unnnecessary force on _step_?

"Well, he was put in jail three years ago for murder and child abuse. But..." Nico hesitated, took a deep breath, and looked me directly in the eye. It was slightly unnerving, the way his dark eyes were so serious. That kind of look didn't belong on a teenager. "He escaped. Last week. And...the NYPD believe he's looking for Percy."

 **Going to follow Aphrodite now ;)**

Aphrodite wrapped her pink fuzzy bathrobe tighter around herself and hurried through the halls of her giant house. Sometimes she wished that she and Tristan weren't so successful, or at least had the common sense to not buy a mansion that took up about four acres of space in total.

Of course, she did enjoy the house when she could relax in the 50 foot by 50 foot hot tub. But enough of that.

And, Aphrodite being the common sense kind of person, she decided to follow Piper.

She watched Piper as she cautiously searched Percy's room, wincing when she saw the remains of her favorite cookie tray (damn you Jason) and the shards of the once-majestic oak door. Well, that's about five hundred dollars down the drain. Whatever.

Piper came back out of the room, gingerly making her way around the sharp wood fragments littered on the floor.

Nothing interesting here, Aphrodite concluded, and so she turned back the way she came and went to go find Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, Jason, Leo, and...yeah, that was it. Except for Percy, but she had complete confidence in Piper's Percy-finding skills.

"Nico?" She called, wandering around the upstairs floor. "Leo?"

Nothing.

She took a sharp turn to the right and found Leo, peeking into a few of the spare bedrooms and her closet room #7. Yes, she had ten different spare rooms converted into her personal closet(s). So? She simply had a lot of clothes.

Up ahead, Leo made a sound like a gag and pulled a frilly white sundress that admittedly had a rather low neckline, out of her closet (room #7). "Man, Mom is crazy. Who the fudge wears stuff like this?"

He threw the dress back in and seemingly gave up hope in that room. "Percy would never hide in this place anyways. Ugh, just looking at it is traumatic."

Aphrodite crossed her arms and scowled at Leo's retreating back before going in to see closet room #7 herself.

-0-0-0-

Well, closet room #7 was a bit of a mess, but that was all. Aphrodite still didn't know what was _wrong_ with Leo. It was quite a nice room, by all measures. And that sundress may have been a bit inappropriate, but you couldn't judge a closet by a sundress!

She was still fuming when somehow, she wandered into the front parlor. Aphrodite sighed and was just about to leave when the doorbell rang.

"What?" she muttered to herself, turning back and reaching down to unlock the door. "Who would come at...six in the morning?"

The door unlocked with a click and Aphrodite self-consciously smoothed down her hair and straightened her bathrobe. Oh, fudge. She was still wearing her pink fuzzy bathrobe and answering the door in it.

Too late to turn back now, she thought resignedly, swinging the door open and coming face-to-face with two police officers.

 **And...CUT! Going back to...Piper and Percy, I think. Do you want more Leo, or no?**

"Percy!" Piper called, hurrying after his retreating footsteps. "Wait! Percy!"

Percy looked behind himself and, zipping his jacket up, took off in a dead run through the halls, weaving left and right and up and down the stairs. Now, Piper knew she was no slouch. She was definitely in good shape. She was a member of the track team at school, and the head cheerleader. She was definitely quite athletic. But the speed Percy was running at was amazing.

"Hey!" Piper yelled, running faster and faster. If there was one thing Piper was good at, if was building up speed. She could do it in running, in relationships, even in other's people's confidence.

"Would you consider joining the...track team?" Piper called, panting with exertion but still pushing on. "I really think...you'd be...good...at it."

She finally gave in, bending over with her hands on her knees. "And...he's gone again."

 **I gave you guys extra because reasons. And just saying, I officially finished this chapter on May 27, but I haven't gotten a hundred reviews yet so no update for you guys! And more editing time for me! :D**


	18. Chapter 18

Okay, **so I'm not quite sure how to do this...but...I'm going to see if I can kind of start as Aphrodite POV (I've never done that before!) and show the scene with the police. Then I'm going to do a dramatic cut to the scene with Nico, Jason, Annabeth, and Thalia. Then I'm going to cut to Percy POV, where...much drmaticness will commence! Get ready, people's. Let's see if I can not screw this up.**

 **Disclaimer: Yes, I own nothing. What do you want me to do about it?**

 **Oh and PS - Crystal Collision, you're good! The song was indeed Believer, by Imagine Dragons. I LOVE THAT SONG! Also, to pernicorules (guest) you got it right too!**

 **Percy: Hi Crystal Collision. And...what on earth is pernico? And why does it rule?**

 **Jason: PERNICO IS A SHIP! NICO AND -**

 **Nico : *summons skeletons to kill Jason* Pernico is a flavor of ice cream. It's very good.**

 **Percy: *confused* Oh...ok.**

Aphrodite POV (first time ever huh)

"Um...hey there," I said, looking at the two police officers. "Is...is something wrong?"

"No ma'am, you are not in trouble. Now, is there a Perseus Jackson living at this residence?" The shorter one, who was female and most likely Chinese, asked politely. I was immediately on my guard. "Yes, there is. He's my foster son. Why do you need him?"

"Well, ma'am, I'm sure you are well aware of his history, but to be blunt, Perseus had an abusive stepfather, who was arrested three years ago. He's been in the custody of the NYPD, but a week ago, he escaped from his cell. The NYPD believe that he's coming to find Perseus. As such, we need Perseus at our headquarters to keep him safe and to question him, to get more data about this Gabriel Ugliano." The other one said. This one was tall and gray-haired, and a male.

"Um, I'm sorry, but I don't think that'd be wise. My children and I recently discovered that Percy has a very bad case of PTSD. We'd rather he not be in a place where he could break down at any moment," I replied, trying to keep my voice level.

"I'm the chief of police," the shorter one interrupted. "This is not a matter for you to decide. We need the child for questioning, and if this Ugliano character gets to your house, what's to say he won't kill your adopted son?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Listen to me. Percy is perfectly safe here. My husband and I are both celebrities. If armies of fangirls can't get into our house, what makes you think one drunk man can?"

"Ma'am, if you won't let us have him at our headquarters, we need to at least be able to question him," the taller one interjected. "He could give us valuable information that could help us capture this criminal faster, so your son will be safe again."

"I'm sure you and the NYPD can do it without his info," I shot back. "You don't understand how much he's been through. I will not let you take him and question him. Yes, I want his safety to be 100% secure. But I also want him to be happy and healthy, and I highly doubt he will be either of those if I allow you to question him."

"All we need is a description of him. A little bit of background information on his life before," the shorter one said kindly. "We don't need a lot. Perhaps some answers to our questions as to what he liked to do, what he didn't like to do. So we can narrow down where this Ugliano person is and catch him more easily."

"Yes, well, don't you have prison guards to give you a description? And a more accurate one too," I said, glaring at the shorter police officer. "I don't believe you need my son for anything, so I'll just let you be on your way now." I made to slam the door, but the taller one jammed his foot between the door and the doorway to stop me. "Ma'am, just let us explain more."

"Gabriel Ugliano may not seem like a threat, but he's as cunning as he is addicted to alcohol, which is a _lot,_ believe us. He knows what gets to Perseus, and he knows how to find where he is. If you just let us ask a few questions, we'll be in and out and Gabriel Ugliano's face will be in the news as 'Captured.'" The shorter one said. Gods, these two should work as politicians instead. All they were feeding me could be lies, but it all sounded so truthful.

My willpower wavered slightly. Were these two police officers telling the truth, or were they simply lying to get what they want? I honestly couldn't tell, but I did want to help them somehow.

"Well, okay," I sighed. "But I will be right there in the room with you, you hear me?"

The two police officers seemed to realize that this was the best they were going to get and they nodded at me. "But remember, if you do or say anything except for supervise, we will have to remove you from the room."

"And if what you're saying isn't the best topic?" I retorted. "I will be in there to keep Percy _safe._ You can either accept my terms or get off my property. Now."

The shorter onerolled his eyesbut relented. "Fine. Now, can we come in?"

"Can you come back in...two hours? We still need to sort out a few things. My husband left for California, so it's just me managing seven kids." I said.

"Alright. So we'll leave you to it," the taller one said politely, closing the door. I let out a long breath and leaned against it, running a hand through my hair.

I knew that Percy was different. I mean, the Social Services lady had warned me, and I didn't care. They'd warned me about Thalia and Jason, Leo, Nico, even Annabeth. I'd always been able to make it work.

What was different this time?

 **Haha clueless Aphrodite. Anyways, on to...Nico, Jason, Thalia, and Annie! Hm...I think I'll stick with 3rd person, that way I can show everyone's emotions without having to randomly switch POVs.**

3rd person POV (in case you're too lazy to read the bold)

Jason started laughing and it wasn't long before he realized that nobody was yelling, 'Aw, you saw through our prank!' Or 'How'd you know it was a joke?'

"Um, that was a joke, right?" He asked, an edge of doubt creeping into his voice. "A completely fictional, unreal, non nonfictional joke? That isn't real, and completely made up. Like a fairy tale! Hey, let's talk about those instead, why don't we?"

Annabeth gave him her patented why-are-you-so-dumb look and shook her head. "Nope. It's not. Now, let's talk strategy. What can we do about this? Should we warn Percy? Or mom? And also, if Ugliano is on the loose, I think that police officers could be -"

"Gods, Annabeth!" Thalia interrupted. "Can we all shut our mouths and have time to process this before diving headfirst into facts and weird statistics and stuff?"

"Right. Right. Sorry, that's just how I always get things done. I normally don't want to actually process the thing because that takes too long, and time can't be wasted, because this is serious, and -"

"I meant quiet, Annie," Thalia said.

Annabeth opened her mouth as if to apologize and then shut it again. Thalia stifled a giggle. "Wow, Annie. You really don't want to make me mad, do you?"

"Well, no, because last time you got really mad, you ran to your room and locked yourself in until I apologized," Annabeth retorted.

"Guys!" Nico interrupted. "Back on topic here. Annabeth's right, we do need to somehow figure out a way to help Percy. I just don't think that we should tell him about his stepfather, you know? It just...seems like a bit much to take in, especially for him."

"Yeah, I know," Jason replied. "So do we tell Mom?"

"I...don't know. Does mom even know about Percy's...um, attacks?" Thalia asked cautiously. Everyone could tell she was trying not to overstep any boundaries, although it was much too late for that.

"No, I don't think she does," Jason said. "I saw her earlier. Leo was there, and Piper. I was supposed to find Thalia, and I found her. Anyways, we were supposed to meet up in Leo's room and discuss stuff."

"Oh...okay," Nico said. "Wait, what did Leo tell you?"

"What? He told me...um...absolutely nothing!" Jason smiled a large, false smile. "We just went into his room...randomly...and Mom bargained with him for inf - I mean absolutely nothing! We just hung out in there because it's fun!"

Annabeth looked at him with half-lidded eyes. "Good _lying_ , Jason."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry but Momtoldmetokeepitasecretbecauseshe'safraidofhowyou'llreact!" Words came tumbling out of Jason's mouth and he didn't bother to correct them.

"Uh...okay, so all I got from that was a secret and someone reacting? Like...what?" Thalia asked.

Jason sighed. "Leo told us that Percy's got scars. Happy now?"

"Like, what kind of scars?" Nico questioned.

Jason shuddered, remembering Leo's vivid description of it. How had Leo said it? ' _He's got...like, this net of scars, and there are just so, so many of them...way too many of them. It's just...wrong.'_

And so he repeated Leo's words right back to the group.

"Whoa," Thalia murmured. "That's...no way that's true. Leo was probably lyi-"

"You think Leo would lie about something like this?" Annabeth asked, her voice trembling with anger. "You really think he'd just blatantly _lie_ about something like that? No, he isn't lying, and that just makes me even _more_ mad."

"Um, Annabeth, Piper's gone to find Percy. I'm sure that she'll get through to him and then we'll be able to ask him about it, okay?" Nico suggested quietly. His tone reminded Jason of the tone that zookeepers used to calm a furious animal.

"No, I have to go help. I can't just...sit here doing _nothing_ while all of this is happening! This isn't going to keep going. Not while I'm alive. I am going to find that Ugliano and throttle him with my _bare hands_. And then I'm going to dump his dead body into a giant paper shredder and take the shredded parts of his body and burn them to ashes. And then I'm going to -"

"Annabeth, calm down," Jason said, putting his hands up in a placating gesture. "I'm as mad as you are, but making death plans for Gabe Ugliano and plotting murder isn't going to help Percy. I think we should go find him."

Annabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she reopened her gray eyes, they were filled with a new determination. "You're right. Let's go find Percy."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Thalia, you take the east wing. Jason, you'll patrol these hallways in case Percy comes running by. Nico, you take the west wing. And I'll go outside to make sure he isn't out there," Annabeth ordered. Everyone nodded and they raced off in their separate directions.

Jason paced through the empty hallways, thoughts running through his head at the speed of light. Why would anyone do something so terrible to a young child? What was it in people's minds that caused them to hurt innocent children?

What was wrong with the human race?

 **This is true, guys. This is my view of child abuse. And my view is that any fucked-up bitch or douche who'd do that to a kid deserves Tartarus. They deserve to see the pain they've caused. And that's pretty much the whole basis of this story. I felt bad about it, and I decided to write a story. I mean, I know that some people follow this story. They want updates. I know. I'm sorry this chapter is late. I just needed some time, because with every new story of child abuse comes another drunken IDIOT who, in my opinion, doesn't deserve to live, and about ten hours of me being so mad that I can't do anything.**

 **Okay, anyways, I had to put that in. It's not the end. Switching to Percy POV**

Percy POV

I ran through the halls, adrenaline fueling my legs to go faster, even faster. I ignored the burning pain and I ignored the fear still churning in my stomach.

My gods, why was I so _stupid_? Why didn't I just throw the...intimate clothing into Piper's face and run? Why did that coat hanger have to be in that place? Why did all of this even have to happen to me?

 _Because you deserve it,_ a small voice whispered in the corner of my mind. _Bad things come to those who deserve it. Good things happen to those who deserve it. If you have a bad life, you are a bad person._

I scrunched my eyes shut and drew the back of my hand across my eyes. I was not going to cry. Crying was a sign of weakness. And I could not afford to be weak, because I had already proven I was. I did not need to show everyone how vulnerable I was.

Piper's voice sounded behind me. "Please, Percy! Just stop running!"

 _No._ No, I will not stop running, because then you'll see how _pathetic_ I am and how _weak_ and _useless_ and utterly _stupid_ I am, I thought, speeding up and skidding around a corner, where I practically flew past Jason, who jumped about ten feet into the air and then shouted, "Percy! Where're you going?"

 _Away from here. Away from everything._ "To the bathroom!" I called over my shoulder. "I haven't gone since yesterday!"

"Oh...alright then," Jason yelled. "Did Piper already tell you to meet in Leo's room?"

 _Fudge._ "Yeah!" I replied. "Be right there!"

I swerved around another corner and then stumbled into some random room, flicking in the lights and sitting down in a chair.

And then, when I turned to face the empty wall, a message in blood red letters caught my eye.

 _Tonight. Bring no one else with you. Our old apartment. Either you're there, or your friends are all dead._

My breathing completely stopped when I looked at the name signed beneath it.

 _From your loving stepfather._

 **The EEEENNNNNNDDDD! Yay! Some more drama involving Gabe, because he sucks! Anyways, have fun guys, review, follow, and favorite! Love you all! Byyyeeeeeeee!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Alright guys! I'm back! Woo hoo!**

 **I need to give out some much-needed review responses to this one reviewer who has seriously outdone herself. I believe it's a her, but I don't want to offend her. So if you are in fact male, I'm incredibly sorry. :p.**

 **So this is for Tori Chase. (See? Really female name)**

 **Okay, so you've been reviewing on tons of my chapters (thanks so much) and I just wanted to say thank you so much for supporting me and boosting my self-esteem. I mean, there have been times I wanted to just say 'You know what? This story idea is terrible. I quit.' Especially during the last few chapters, where I've been setting up a bunch of loose threads for something big...which I have no idea what it's going to be. But anyways, thanks so much for brightening my day. Every time I update, I'll go away for a few hours and then come back to see if anyone reviewed. And if I see that you reviewed, I'll immediately read it, and every time I do, I'll finish reading with a huge, dorky smile on my face because you're amazing. Thanks so much, again. And by the way, the linebreak would love to be friends with you. He doesn't have many friends either, besides me and the censor thing. Poor little guy.**

 **So anyways, dear Death Fury, thanks for giving me ideas and being an awesome reviewer! I totally get it, I write from scratch as well. I've tried outlines, but I just can't stick to them. Smiles the guest, you're amazing as well! Totally love you! And irenechon2005, you're amazing! Thanks so much for reviewing! And Crystal Collision, Percy wants to be your friend. :D.**

 **Okay guys, I'm thanking those five people because they're literally the only people who reviewed last chapter. I mean, seriously guys? Was it that bad?**

 **But anyways, everyone else who's reviewed, followed, favorited, or just read this story, you have my eternal gratitude for supporting me! Just thought I'd put that in there.**

 **Alright, this is a long AN. Anyways, I'm ready for some drama and some angst! Are you ready, guys? Because if you're not, I suggest you get ready for some MAJOR drama and a LOT of conflicting thoughts (mostly from Percy)**

Percy POV

No. No. No no no no no no no. This was not happening. I was definitely dreaming. Taking a deep breath, I pinched myself as hard as I could, and felt the small twinge of pain. Oh gods no. I wasn't dreaming.

Staring at the scarlet letters on the wall, my breaths began to come in short, quick bursts. My muscles were tensing with the adrenaline coursing through me and there was a cold sweat starting to form all over my body.

The panic attack was coming on strong, and the waves of terror were already starting to wash over me. I stumbled into some sort of vase and dimly heard the sound of it shattering as it hit the ground.

So I bent down, picked up a shard of clay, and began to do the only thing I could do to stop the attack.

The piece of shattered vase bit into my arm as I slowly dragged it across my skin. The pain sliced through the haze clouding my vision just as quickly and cleanly as the sharp edge of the clay cut through my skin.

Taking three deep breaths, I fought back the attack for a little bit, keeping the piece of clay clutched tightly in my hand. This was actually happening. It wasn't a nightmare. And I didn't want to do it.

I didn't want to go back to Gabe. I wanted to stay here, stay and...let innocent people die because of my selfishness and utter stupidity.

No. No, that was not going to happen. I was not going to have any more blood on my hands.

The real surprise was that after thinking about it, I _knew,_ just _knew_ that I had to go. Being a coward and staying would ensure my friends' death. I could _not_ have that on my hands as well. Not after my mom. I had to go, and I had to go with the knowledge that I'd most likely never see my friends, my _family_ again.

For them.

For Annabeth, Annabeth and her golden hair and her steely gray eyes, eyes that held determination and willpower and intelligence. Eyes that showed me gratitude and love and family. Eyes that I admittedly found beautiful and entrancing. I had to go for her.

For Leo, Leo and his scars that may not have been able to compete with me in sheer numbers but held just as much sadness, just as much pain, just as much suffering. I had to go for him, for Annabeth, for Piper and Jason, for Nico, for Thalia. Maybe even for Aphrodite, who I admittedly did not like as much as everyone else, but still. She was the reason I had even met them all.

She was the reason I had met all of these people, who somehow I considered my friends/family. Friendamily? Whatever. My new...friendamily was probably the best thing that had happened to me since Mom...left me behind.

But I didn't want to go back. I didn't want it to hurt anymore. There was a reason that I ran away when I was nine. I never wanted to see Gabe's face again. I _couldn't_ see Gabe's face again. It would definitely break me, probably beyond repair. And then it wouldn't all be okay, it'd all be broken and shattered, like me, when it shouldn't be.

That couldn't happen. I couldn't go, I just couldn't, I just really freaking couldn't. I didn't want life to keep digging its claws into me like it wanted to see me suffer, to see me cry out in pain. It shouldn't hurt anymore. I shouldn't be afraid. Humans with actual worth are never afraid. They are brave and face every challenge, because they are actually contributing to the world, not sucking off everyone else like a leech.

I bet you can guess which category I belong in.

Then again, all Gabe had ever told me was that I was worthless. Maybe he was right. No, scratch that. He _is_ right. I _am_ worthless and useless and stupid and no one would ever want me. No one in their right mind, at least.

 _I still have to go,_ I thought firmly, turning away from the message on the wall, even though the crimson was forever imprinted onto my retinas. _They won't miss me. It's fine. They already have their own family anyways. They don't need a troubled kid like me to mess it all up. Like I mess everything up. They're better off without me. The world is better off without me._

Taking a deep breath, I thought, _Besides, I've always thought it would be easier for everyone if I just disappeared. I can go there with Gabe, and then, after he's got everything he needs out of me, I'll simply take a knife with me and end it all. It'll be fine. I'll be with Mom again! Everything will be gone, and I won't feel the pain anymore. I won't have the attacks anymore. My scars won't be there anymore. Everything will be better._

 _And then again, who'd miss me anyways?_

Annabeth POV

I raced through the grass outside, my gray eyes roving through the huge expanse of yard. "Percy!" I yelled, wet dewdrops trickling down my calves and into my socks. "Percy! Are you even out here?"

Peering into several windows, I caught a glimpse of a dark-haired teen running through the halls. _Percy._ Gods, I had to get to him. I had to get to him _right now._

"Percy!" I shrieked, pounding on the window, which of course did not give in, thanks to the bulletproof glass Mom installed to keep away adoring fans. Shouting in frustration, I darted around to a screen door that led to a small parlor that was only about fifty yards away from the hallway where I had seen Percy.

Sprinting so fast that I was nearly flying through the early morning sunshine, I burst through the door and into the hallway where I had seen Percy, trying every door until I found a locked one. Wiggling the doorknob a few more times to make sure it was locked, I let myself smile faintly because my suspicions had been confirmed.

"Aha," I murmured, before realizing I had no key and that my house key was in my room. Which was on the other side of the whole giant mansion Mom and Dad owned. And that it would probably take me about twenty minutes to run over to my room, grab the key, and then run back.

"Damn," I cursed, pounding at the door before thinking, _Nah, I don't Mom would be happy if I broke another one of her doors. Besides, I only managed to break Percy's because I had help. Maybe I should try to find someone who has a key. Isn't the master bedroom close to here? Yeah, I think it is, so if Mom and Dad left their house keys, I can grab them and unlock the door. Yeah. Good plan._

I set off again through the halls when I collided hard with...someone. Piper groaned from her position on the floor and I rubbed my arm, which was what Piper had run full speed into. "Pipes? Okay, I have a very important question. Do you have your house key?"

"Um...yeah," Piper said dazedly, blinking rapidly as if trying to get something out of her eye. "Why? Is Percy locked out? Is something bad happening? Do you need my house key to kill somebody?"

"Yeah, you know, I highly doubt that a house key could kill someone. Anyways, I need you to unlock a door for me. I think Percy's inside," I blurted. "Come on, the door's this way." Pulling Piper to her feet, I set off back down the hall to the locked door.

"This one?" Piper asked, trying the doorknob of the locked door and trying to turn it a few more times before she confirmed the answer to her own question. "Oh. This one."

Sticking the key into the lock and wiggling it around, Piper finally pulled the key out and opened the door for me. "Alright, so you think Percy's hiding in here? It's kind of doubtful. If he heard you come out here he would've run as soon as he heard you try to-"

Piper's voice cut off as I switched on the lights. A bright lightbulb flickered to life in the center of the ceiling, harshly illuminating the dull cream wall to show a message in jagged crimson letters.

 _Tonight. Bring no one else with you. Our old apartment. Either you're there, or your friends are all dead._

"No," I mumbled. "No. No, this can't be. There's no way he got in. The house is too...well-protected..." I trailed off, remembering the unlocked door I had come through. No, this house wasn't too well-protected.

Piper sputtered something from beside me, her key falling from her fingers and landing with a soft thud on the carpeted floor. Dust poofed up from the spot where the key had landed. "N-no way this is true. This is not happening. Th-this is not happening."

It took me a minute to get over my shock and read the next line, even though every cell in my body was screaming to get out of that room, find Ugliano, and throttle him.

 _From your loving stepfather._

"Gods of Olympus, this cannot be true," Piper said, turning to me. "Annabeth, tell me that I'm hallucinating the giant red letters on the wall. Then tell me that Gabe Ugliano is locked up in prison. Then please shoot me with one of those tranquilizer dart thingies, because this is not happening."

"Oh, it's happening," I muttered grimly, facing Piper. My gray eyes bored holes into Piper's kaleidoscopic ones. "This is real. And we have to stop Percy from going to meet Gabe. And I get the feeling he'll go. He's definitely seen this message, because he's the one that locked the door. We have to stop him."

Piper drew in a sharp, terrified breath, but she managed to meet my eyes with the same sheer willpower that I was projecting out of my own gray eyes. "You're right. We need to get a message to everyone. Uh, but how, exactly?"

I smirked, pulling out my phone, taking a picture of the message on the wall, and opening up the messages app. "Isn't that what texting is for?"

 **Ooooh, Piper and Annie-Bannanie are in on the secret. What's gonna happen next? Hmmm...I bet they're going to have a pizza party!**

Jason POV (this chappie's gonna be extra long, because I need to get literally everyone's POV, except for Piper's because she was with Annabeth. But to make up for it, next chapter is Piper POV! Unless I forget, which I probably will. Please remind me)

"Okay then..." I muttered, minutes after Percy raced by, claiming he was going to the bathroom. "I'll just...totally believe you...because literally everything you've told us so far has been the truth...not..." Sighing, I leaned back against the wall. Percy was too far gone to chase after anyways.

Seconds later, Piper shot by me, startling me so badly that I nearly peed my pants. "Piper!" I shouted, pushing off the wall into a proper standing position. "What are you doing?"

There was no response. Either Piper had already raced out of earshot or she was simply ignoring me. Or maybe she hadn't heard the whole message and had simply decided to keep running. Oh gods, was she chasing Percy? I _knew_ I should've stopped him...

"Whatever," I mumbled, dismissing Piper's situation. "I wonder if anybody else has had any luck. Well, besides me, because I'm a complete idiot and I let him run past me."

Sitting down in a chair that I dragged out from Thalia's room, I pulled my phone out from my back pocket and swiped through my apps, wondering if now was the appropriate time to play Subway Surfers or if Candy Crush was okay for a situation like this. Probably not for both, but I was bored.

I had just decided on Subway Surfers and was about to open the app when a notification pinged at the top of my phone. A text from Annabeth? Had she found Percy?

Opening the messages app, I glanced at the message Annabeth had sent me and I nearly fainted.

There was a picture of a wall somewhere in our house, lit by a flickering lightbulb. And painted in drunken red letters was a message that chilled me down to my bones.

 _Tonight. Bring no one with you. Our old apartment. Either you're there or your friends are all dead._

I completely forgot how to breathe when I saw the next line.

 _From your loving stepfather._

There was a small text bubble below it. Willing my heart to stop beating about two thousand times a second, I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes and the slowly opening them, as if trying to not notice the picture would help.

 _'Jason, this is urgent. Meet me and Piper by the front door. We may not be there by the time you get there. Just sit tight. We'll explain everything when we get there. - Annabeth.'_

And so I swallowed my fear and slipped my phone back into my pocket, standing up from the chair and sprinting off to go meet Annabeth, millions of questions slipping in and out of my twisting, confused thoughts.

 **So the gang is finally finding out about the creepy message! Next up is Nico, because...DI ANGELOS RULE!**

Nico POV

I was just beginning my search of the west wing, peeking into empty rooms, trying every doorknob, and making sure to check outside the windows just in case. Worry was gnawing away at my very being, which was strange. Normally, I didn't bond with people well. Losing someone who had been your idol, your most trusted friend and your only family *cough cough* Bianca *cough cough* did that to a person.

Which of course made me wonder how Percy had carried a weight like that on his shoulders for so long. If Gabe had...made his mother pass away when Percy was five, and he was sixteen now...that was _eleven years_ of probably depression, anxiety, and abuse. Well, four years of abuse, since he ran away, but still.

Blinking away the moisture that was collecting in my eyes (just an allergy. Pollen is very annoying), I checked another room before peering out the window and being greeted with the sight of Annabeth darting past. Guess she hadn't found him either.

Sighing, I searched for another ten minutes with no luck, until I decided ' _Time for a break,'_ and opened a few more doors, searching for a bathroom. Because...I had to go. Really badly.

Just then, my phone, which was tucked into my jeans pocket, buzzed alarmingly. I leaped about ten feet into the air before realizing it was just my phone. Laughing at my own paranoia, I slipped my phone out of my pocket and discovered a new text from Annabeth.

"Huh, I wonder what's up," I muttered to myself, tapping the messages app and opening my messages. Which, I admit, I don't have many of. But I'd really rather never have one than have the one that I saw from Annabeth.

My eyes were inexorably drawn to the spiky cerise (ooh fancy words) letters marring the smooth cream wall. There was a lightbulb in the right corner of the picture, but I didn't notice that. What I did notice, however, sent fear, guilt, sorrow, and adrenaline rocketing through my body like a supercharged bomb and completely erasing the need to go pee.

 _Tonight. Bring no one with you. Our old apartment. Either you're there or your friends are all dead._

I nearly fainted when I saw the next line, and Nico di Angelo is not a person who faints easily. Hey, I'm tough. I may be incredibly short (Jason stop laughing. STOP OR I WILL BEAT YOU TO DEATH!) but I'm definitely more mature than most people my age. Unlike _some_ people *cough cough* Jason Grace *cough cough*.

 _From your loving stepfather._

I closed my eyes and then, seconds later, reopened them, noticing a small text bubble below the horrifying image, which I was _not going to look at anymore, thank you very much._

 _'Hey Neeks. This is important. Me and Piper need you to meet us in the main parlor, by the front door. If we're not there by the time you get there, just hang tight. We'll explain everything. - Annabeth.'_

I couldn't help the worry that immediately spread to every part of my body, and I couldn't really help the speed I was running at. My body was on autopilot as I ran toward the front of the house, desperate to hear WHAT THE FRICK FRACK DIDDLY DACK WAS GOING ON.

 **Linebreaks! Get your linebreaks here! 100% off, because I have too many and I never use them! Anyways, next up is...hmm...ooh, get ready for THALIA! And some wall-breaking, because...Thalia has temper tantrums.**

Thalia POV

I was sprinting through the hallways to the east wing, running past several movie posters that Dad had been in and several other posters for ones Mom had been in. Shaking my head at one particularly vulgar poster that feaatured Aphrodite nearly naked (yuck) I skidded around a corner, stopping abruptly to test a doorknob. Unlocked. So Percy wasn't in here.

"Percy?" I called, blowing a stray strand of hair out of my eyes. "Percy? It's Thalia! I swear that I just want to talk to you!" Wandering down yet another hallway, I tried about ten other doors before finding Aphrodite's closet room #10 and gagging.

"What kind of self-respecting woman wears a dress like _this_?" Holding up a dress that had a neckline that _literally_ reached down to where the belly button would be, I eyed the back part with extreme apprehension, mostly because there was a giant hole where the woman's butt would go.

"Oh, yuck. Yuckity yuck yuck yuck. This is...disgusting!" I nearly shouted, throwing the dress back into the closet room like it was poisonous, which I do believe it is. That is, poisonous to any woman who doesn't need a sexy body to get guys interested in her.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I shut the door on the disgusting closet, wishing for a piece of paper or something so I could write a warning to all who dared to enter the world of closet room #10.

Just then, my phone buzzed. Stifling a yelp of surprise, I pulled it out, checking my notifications. A text from Annabeth? What? Oh my gods, had she found Percy?

Scrolling quickly through my apps, I tapped on the messages icon, using admittedly too much force. But still, I was excited!

And maybe just a tiny a bit scared of what I would see.

And what I did see made me terrified, terrified for me, for Percy, for all of us in the house. And it made me furious, so furious that I'm pretty sure I whirled around, punched the wall harder than Annabeth had earlier, and shouted, "It's not fair!" Because it wasn't.

But then again, I guess nothing in life really was fair, was it? There was no order. No big, looming law that said, 'Good people get good things. Bad people get bad things.'

The picture Annabeth had texted me was of a peach-colored wall, with angry ruby-red letters smeared across it. The words were what practically stopped my heart; the words were what was making the fury inside me boil over.

 _Tonight. Bring no one else with you. Our old apartment. Either you're there or your friends are all dead._

"That *hey y'all! I've missed you guys! Thanks for cursing too much Thalia! Oops my time's up gotta go*!" I roared, slamming my fist into the wall again and wincing at the pain. Pulling my hand out, I moved all of my fingers, and, satisfied that I hadn't broken my hand, I mumbled, "Poor Percy."

Then, forcing myself to read the next line, I actually froze with...fear? Anger? Guilt? I don't know, but I froze and the phone fell onto the carpet below when I read the next line of the message.

 _From your loving stepfather._

Gingerly picking the phone back up, as though it was a parasite or something, I held it out as far as I could away from me, as if that would make a difference, as if that would cause the message on the wall to disappear.

I averted my gaze from the phone screen for as long as possible, until I noticed the small message below the picture.

 _'Thals, don't punch the wall or yell bad words at the top of your lungs -'_

"Too late for that warning," I mumbled, smiling to myself at how Annabeth knew me so well.

 _'This is urgent. Meet me and Piper at the front parlor, near the front door. We'll explain everything. We should be there when you are, but if we aren't, just sit tight, 'kay? - Annabeth'_

Shoving my phone back into my pocket, I shot off down the hall and to the front parlor.

 **Alright, we have two people left. Leo...and Aphrodite. Hmm...*thinking in deep concentration* Who shall be subject to the torture first? I think...Aphrodite will be next chapter, actually, because she'll need a ton more explaining ;) ;). Kids today and their unwillingness to tell adults anything... Or maybe Aphrodite's just clueless. Anyways, Leo's up!**

Leo POV

I was walking leisurely down the hall, checking a few roooms every now and then, but mostly I was just thinking about what Piper had said earlier, about secrets. Could keeping a secret really break you? I honestly hadn't believed her then, I had just let her come in because Jason was my best bud.

After walking down another three more incredibly looooooooong hallways, I still couldn't tear my mind off the words Piper had told me. Secrets weren't easy to keep, I knew that, but keeping a secret for too long...

 _'It will break you.'_ Piper's voice said in my head. ' _Do you want to see that happen to Percy?'_

"No," I responded out loud. "But I do want to see it happen to that _idiot_ Ugly-whatever dude."

But then again, Percy had been keeping secrets for a long time, hadn't he? He wouldn't have kept anything from his mother, that was one thing I knew. But his mother had...been murdered when he was five. So if he was currently sixteen, that was...eleven years of secrets.

People would have to be strong to bear a burden like that for so long.

I wanted to either bury my head in a pillow and cry for eleven hours or get so mad that I could demolish a house with my bare hands at the thought of what Percy must've gone through.

After another fifteen minutes of walking, nothing interesting happened. I swore to myself that if life got any more bo-ring, then I would probably punch a wall like Thalia. Hey, it couldn't hurt too bad, right? Besides, I was already mad from thinking about Percy.

I was about to punch the wall and just suck it up when my phone pinged. My eyes lit up with interest and...okay, I admit it, a little bit of fear, but still! Life was good, life was all good. Ugly-face was in jail, Percy was safe with us, and...

Holy shit what the hell just happened to the world I lived in. **Ah I hate writing curses but this deserves it, don't you think?**

Annabeth had texted me, and she had texted me a horrifying picture. Scarlet letters, painted over a blank cream wall. The letters themselves were whatever the opposite of elegant was, and whatever the opposite of happiness was.

 _Tonight. Bring no one else with you. Our old apartment. Either you're there or your friends are all dead._

That part of the message was creepy, no doubt. It was weird and sent shivers up my spine and caused goosebumps everywhere. But the next line was the line that really scared me, the line that caused a storm cloud of fear, doubt, sorrow, anger, and pretty much every negative emotion to fall over my rosy view of the world. I had taken off my rose-colored glasses and was seeing the world for what it really was.

I didn't want that.

And there was that one sentence that could spark so many different emotions, starkly colorful against the wall.

 _From your loving stepfather._

Confusion tangled up all coherent thoughts in my mind. Wasn't Gabe in jail? How'd he get here? This was meant for Percy, obviously, since none of us had a killer abusive stepfather with a terrible last name, but...none of this made sense.

It was only after about five minutes of staring at the picture, confused, when I noticed the message underneath the picture.

' _Hey Leo. Listen up. I'll make this short for you. Gabe is Percy's stepfather, but I guess you know that. Anyways, Gabe was in jail but escaped last week. He's here. And Percy's most likely going to meet him. Come meet me, Piper, and everyone else in the front parlor. Near the front door. Sit tight and we'll explain everything. - Annie.'_

I allowed a small grin onto my face at the way the message was worded - perfect for a dyslexic ADHD kid like me. Not too many big words, as short as the whole message allowed it to be, and definitely attention-grabbing. Annabeth was a genius.

My grin grew even wider when I realized I could practically see Annabeth behind me sticking her nose in the air haughtily and saying, "I know I'm a genius, Leo. You didn't need to point it out."

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I scanned the hallway. So I was somewhere near the back of the house...just great. Sighing and sticking my phone in my pocket, I took off sprinting down the hallway.

What I didn't know then, however, was that there was still a lot of running to be done.

 **It's a weird ending, but if I stay on my train of thought for this story, then it works! Frank and Hazel should be introduced next chapter, and I'll switch between Piper and Aphrodite POV. That's my plan, and it should work!**

 **Guys, I believe the end of this story is starting to approach. So should I start a sequel with more about Percy's past? Or maybe a series of oneshots that could be a prequel about Percy's life before all this. Like, one chapter for every year. So I'm thinking about writing the prequel first, then maybe a sequel. And...yeah, just review and tell me what you think. ;)**

 **PS - this whole document, including the ANs, is OVER 5000 WORDS. 5102 to be exact. THIS IS THE LONGEST DOCUMENT I'VE EVER WRITTEN AND I'M SO PROUD. I'm impressed I had the patience to sit still and write and edit for so long. ;)**

 **PPS - Can we get 125 reviews? Pretty please?**


	20. Chapter 20

**HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYBODY! WELL. IF YOU LIVE IN THE US! IF YOU DON'T YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, BUT TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!**

 **Woo...I'm pretty worn our after my last chapter (5000 words really) but Tori Chase if I could I'd give you thousands of blue cookies I would because goddammit you're amazing and I swear I'll die if you keep complimenting me because of a dorky happiness overload.**

 **Anyways, I've gotta make Percy go to Gabe now...I actually really don't want to. But as the author, I have a responsibility to have cliffhangers, be a troll, and write terrible scenes I don't want to write. SOUND FAMILIAR UNCLE RICK?!**

 **Crystal Collision, I'll help you beat Gabe's ass into the ground. Annabeth definitely will, don't worry. And the rest of the Seven plus Nico and Will (he'll come in next chapter, don't worry) are going to destroy him with you. So don't you worry, you won't have to do it alone. And also, the others do get to Percy soon. It may not be soon enough though...MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Nah, don't worry about it.**

 **PS Tori Chase I am not the goddess of amazing fanfictions (sure wish I was, but my stories could definitely use some editing work (especially near the beginning)). But you are the goddess of the happiness-bringing reviews, because...my face is frozen into a smile position now (I just read your review) Oh, and have a good flight! I mean, obviously, by the time I post this, you'll have landed already, but...:p. Whatever. Have a nice flight anyways!**

 **Percy: *hugs Crystal Collision back* Want a blue cookie? (::) Oh, and also, Death to Barbie owns absolutely nothing. Except for the creepy red wall message. ;)**

Percy POV

My heart thudded in my ribs as I pushed through the small garden. Adrenaline was pumping through me, propelling my legs, and soon enough I had arrived at the main gate, which I quickly scaled and then took off down the road.

My breaths were coming short and fast, partly because of pure fear, partly because of anticipation, and partly because I had been running for a long time. The sky was getting dark now. It was going to happen soon.

Panting, I practically flew down the dirt road into New York City, where I pulled the hood of my hoodie up to make sure nobody could recognize me. Then, I hailed a taxi and told the driver, "East 104th and First," pulling out a wad of cash I had swiped from somewhere on the kitchen table.

I arrived at my old apartment building in twenty minutes and stood before it with a pit of dread forming in chest. This was where it all started. This was where my mom and I had moved in, to a small, dingy apartment that smelled of stale cigarettes and beer.

To hell.

"I'll get through this," I muttered, fingering the knife I had hidden in my hoodie sleeve. "I'll see Mom again. I won't have to deal with anything ever again. It'll all be okay. It'll all be okay."

I kept repeating that with my hand on the doorknob, feeling the cold metal sear my skin before I slowly turned it and stepped into the lobby. One or two people glanced up at me, although I got the feeling they were merely visiting. One of them was wearing an expensive-looking business suit, and the other was an elderly lady who, I got the feeling, didn't want to be here any more than I did.

Waving timidly, I clenched my left hand into a fist, feeling my sharp nails dig into my palms.

Taking one step towards the staircase took a massive amount of willpower. Pushing myself to take just another felt like I was turning to climb Mount Everest. I really, really, really didn't want to do this. The knife that was concealed inside my shirt sleeve was cutting into my forearm.

Just getting my foot on the first step of the staircase felt like an eternity, but I knew I'd have to hurry up to not seem weird. So I managed to climb the stairs at a normal pace, making it to the second floor and somehow managing to hold back the panic attack. For some reason, I found it easier to do that when I knew I was doing something important.

"I will make it," I whispered to myself. "I will make it. I will make it. I will make it. I will make it." Repeating those four words like a mantra, I made it down the hall and stopped right before our old apartment door.

Pausing briefly, I ran through all the reasons why I simply had to go in my head, and then I turned the doorknob, stepping into the room. The door shut slowly behind me with a long, drawn-out creak.

I completely froze at the sight of Gabe, sitting on the worn-out, smelly sofa. He was a lot thinner and a lot crueler-looking than I remembered, with small, beady eyes and a mouth frozen into a permanent sneer.

"Brat," he hissed, standing up. He had a knife in his right hand and a coil of rope in his left. I stifled a scream and backed up, right into the scuffed wooden door. Shivers were traveling up and down my body. My vision was darkening around the edges. Everything was too loud. My footsteps sounded like earthquakes. Rust flooded my mouth. The knife against my arm felt like ice.

Gabe leered at me, showing off his crooked yellow teeth and came closer, close enough so that I could smell the stink of cigarettes and stale beer. "Are you scared?"

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Piper POV

Annabeth and I darted through the hallways, with Annabeth typing furiously away on her phone. "I just sent a message to Thalia," she panted, swerving to dodge a small ornamental table with a porcelain vase on it. "I'm working on Nico."

"Great," I called, my socks sliding on the hardwood floor. Reaching down quickly, I managed to take one sock off and throw it behind me without losing a beat. Seconds later, I took off my other one, tripping and landing on my face when I tried to execute the move I'd done just before.

'You okay?" Annabeth asked, skidding to a stop just in front of me. I nodded, throwing the sock behind me and getting back up. "Come on, we have to move. Who knows where Percy is right now?"

Annabeth glanced outside, worried. "It's getting dark. He might already be off the grounds. We'll have to hurry if we want to stop him."

"Please don't let us be too late," I prayed, racing down another hall. "Are we almost there yet?"

"I think so," Annabeth replied, her fingers flying across her phone's small screen. "I just sent a message to Leo. They should all be meeting us at the front parlor. So right now, we're near the middle of the house, so if we turn left here-" she swerved left - "then we should get to the parlor in maybe three minutes."

"Good," I muttered, fingering my house key in my pocket.

"I'm really worried right now," Annabeth admitted quietly, putting her phone away. "I...uh...I don't want Percy to go. Pipes, I think I...I think I like him. And I mean _like_ him. Like, _like like_ him."

Normally, I would've teased her mercilessly, something like, 'Ooh, Annie-Banannie's got a crush, huh? Maybe Piper the love expert should try and get you two together, huh?' But this time, I could sense that this wasn't appropriate.

"Then we're going to get him back," I said firmly. "Because if you actually like him and you admitted it, then he is yours, girl. And...he needs someone to love him, you realize that, right? And if you don't think you can be that person, don't lead him on, okay?"

"I..." Annabeth faltered. "I honestly don't know. I do know that I will _never_ hurt him. Never. And if anybody even lays a finger on him, I will chop that finger off and behead them with a butter knife."

"That's a little extreme, isn't it?" I asked. Annabeth's gray eyes glinted fiercely. "It is _not extreme._ Not reacting like that would be extreme."

"Whatever you say," I laughed. Already, I could tell that Percabeth was going towards Happy Couple Land.

We screeched to a stop in front of the parlor, where Jason and Nico were waiting. Thalia came rocketing in just a minute after us, and Leo arrived in another few minutes.

"Is everyone here?" I asked, counting heads. "Okay. You're all here."

Everyone burst into questions simultaneously, and all I caught were bits and pieces. "What's going -" "Why is -" "KILL HIM -" "I thought -" "RIP HIS GUTS OUT -" "Isn't Ugliano -" "Criminals page -" "BURN HIS REMAINS -" et cetera, et cetera. Bet you can guess who was yelling about killing Gabe Ugliano, ripping his guts out, and burning his remains.

(It was Thalia).

"Thalia, stop," Annabeth interjected. "Everyone, just quit yelling. Piper and I can answer all of your questions, okay?" Jason's hand shot into the air and Annabeth stifled a snort. "It's not school Jason, don't raise your hand. Piper will tell about what happened."

"M - me?" I stammered. Annabeth nodded and gave me a thumbs-up.

"Okay. Well, I was chasing after Percy and I ran past Jason. But after a few minutes, I crashed into Annabeth, who asked if I had my house key. I always keep mine on me, so I said yes. So Annabeth brought me to this room with a locked door. When I unlocked the door, I turned the lights on and we saw the message," I explained. Annabeth turned on her phone and showed everyone the picture behind me.

"Anyways, after that, we were both really...scared for a minute. But then Annabeth had the idea of texting everyone about it, so we did, and here we are now," I paused, trying to remember if I had skipped anything important. "Oh - and Leo, basically, what happened is that Gabe Ugliano was in jail for three years, but he escaped just last week and the NYPD believe he's looking for Percy, yadda yadda yadda."

"I...oh my gods this is bad," Leo muttered, tangling his hands in his curly hair. "We have to - where's Percy? Find him now, get him back. Where's Mom? She'll know what to do and oh my gods this is bad bad bad bad bad. So so so bad."

"Leo, I know," I said quietly, hoping to calm him down. "Stay calm and we'll figure out a way to fix this, okay?"

"Let's call the police!" Jason suggested, taking out his phone. Just the, the doorbell rang right next to my ear, causing me to leap nearly a foot into the air. My feet pretty much cleared the doorknob.

"GO AWAY!" Thalia yelled at the door. She then peeked outside through the window and turned back to us. "Never mind. It's the police. Jason, don't call the police. They're here already! Wow, they have a fast response time."

"Uh, Thals?" I said nervously. "I don't think they're here because of the message on the wall." Dread formed a ball in my stomach, slowly growing larger and larger. Swallowing, I muttered, "I'm guessing it's because of something else."

 **I promised Aphrodite POV, but I'm guessing that you all dislike it as much as I do. So, Annabeth instead!**

Annabeth POV (thank me later)

I cast a quick glance at Piper, who looked just as tense and worried as I felt. Of course, being the calm strategic thinker of the group, I hid my concern and opened the door, taking a breath and composing myself, praying I looked as completely normal as I hoped I did.

"Uh...hello there," the police officer said awkwardly, looking at me as though she was sizing me up. "My name is Emily Zhang. I'm...here to question Perseus Jackson? I mean, I'm here to question Perseus Jackson."

"Okay, back it up," I said, trying my hardest to keep my voice level, although I wasn't able to keep the hostile edge out of my words. "What gives you the right to just walk in here and demand to question him?"

"No, actually, I met with...Aphrodite earlier. She is your mother, right?" The police officer - Emily Zhang - stated. Everyone nodded. "She agreed to let me question Perseus -"

"Percy," Leo interrupted. "His name is Percy."

The Zhang lady gave him a strange look, but didn't comment. "Okay then. Well, she said I could question Percy as long as she could be in the room with me, just in case...something happened. Care to give me a little more information?"

"Lady, listen up. We've got a crisis here," Thalia said, coming forward with her hands on her hips. "Percy's gone. Hold it! Don't ask questions yet. Annabeth, go ahead and explain."

I swallowed. "Right. So basically, to make it short, something happened to Percy that made him agitated. I'm not sure what or why, but it did. Anyways, he ran off and we all split up to find him. Stuff happened, yadda yadda yadda. I saw Percy through a window because I was outside looking for him, and then I went inside to catch up to him. I found a locked door, and all the locks in this house respond to one key, our house key. So I went to go get mine, but then I ran into Piper, who keeps her key on herself at all times. So she unlocked the door for me and we went in. Well, when we turned the lights on... I paused, taking out my phone and finding the picture - "We saw this."

Holding up my phone, which had the photo of the wall displayed on its screen, I continued. "We need to get to his old apartment right now and stop him for going to meet Gabe. Trust me, he's gone to meet Gabe." I reassured. "Can you get Percy's old address?"

"Yes. Well, technically, not his, but I can get Gabe's," Emily said. She had become noticeably paler after looking at the photo, and her posture was a lot stiffer, as though she was shoving her emotions to the side and focusing on the problem at hand. I liked her. She was, in a lot of ways, just like me.

Her phone rang and Emily Zhang jumped. "Wait one second, I just need to take this call." She held up a finger. "Okay, all of you have to get in my...car...there's not enough room. Someone go alert your mom and tell her we need to take her car. Four of you can come with me."

Her voice faded off as she hurried away, her phone to her ear. "Okay guys. Who's going with Zhang?" I asked urgently, turning back to everyone else. They all glanced at each other, until Jason said, "I think that either Piper or Annabeth should go with Mom. She'll need an explanation, and you two know the most."

"But Officer Zhang needs an explanation," Piper countered. "Annabeth knows the most. So Annabeth, are you going to go with Mom or the police officer?"

Tough decisions always land on me, I thought, my mind racing to calculate all the possibilities. "I think I'll go with...the police officer. We need to get there fast, and I...I just have to be in the faster car. I just _have_ to."

"Okay. Then I'll go with Mom. Jason, will you ride with me?" Piper asked. Jason nodded, his hand reaching towards Piper's. Piper smiled at him and took his hand, squeezing it gratefully.

Next to me, Thalia mimed barfing. Me, I was actually kind of envious. I may not seem like the type to crave romance, and, to be honest, I don't _crave_ it, but a boyfriend wouldn't be too bad. Especially a boyfriend who lived with me. And no, I most certainly do not mean Leo or Nico. And definitely not Jason.

"Okay. All of you, go find Mom," I ordered. "I'll stay here with the police officer. Bring Mom back as soon as possible, you hear me? Just tell it's an emergency and that you'll explain in the car.

Everyone nodded and Thalia even saluted to me. "Gotcha. Come on guys, let's move!" She called, herding everyone back inside. I could hear her muffled voice giving orders through the wall.

Emily Zhang came back with her phone slipped into her pocket. "That was my son. Um, so, we live in a neighborhood that isn't the best, and his grandmother has been having issues with her health. So, apparently, she just went out, and he and his girlfriend can _not_ stay alone in our neighborhood. Someone's going to attack them or something. So...I told them to just come with us. They shouldn't be a bother, don't worry."

"I mean, the more people that know, the better to put Gabe behind bars for life," I shrugged. "Everyone else has gone to find Mom. So, do you want more information? 'Cause I heard you say something about that earlier."

"More data would be very helpful," she said. "But I don't want to push you into doing anything. Oh, and while I was on the phone, I managed to radio the station. Gabe's old address is East 104th and First. Manhattan."

"Thank the gods you got it. Anyways, Percy's dyslexic and ADHD, just like all of us kids, actually. He's also had quite a few panic attacks since coming here, and it's pretty much obvious that he has depression and he most likely cuts. Oh, and also, he's really skinny. Like, really skinny. If he weighs more than eighty pounds, I'm Santa Claus. And -"

I was cut off by the sound of Piper yelling, "Found her!" and the sound of Mom shouting, "What is going on?"

"Mrs. McLean, we don't have much time," Officer Zhang said urgently. "Please, just get in your car. Get a GPS too, if you don't already have one, or just follow my car. Whoever's going in your car can explain. We're going to East 104th and First. Come on!"

Mom blinked twice, obviously confused beyond belief, and then Piper shoved her into the driver's seat, turning the keys in the ignition and placing Mom's hands on the steering wheel. "Follow Ms. Zhang! Go, Mom, go!"

"I...okay! Okay! But you promise me that you'll..." her voice faded out as Leo, Nico, Thalia and I ran towards Officer Zhang's police cruiser. I opened the passenger doors and Leo, Nico, and Thalia tumbled in, leaving me to sit in shotgun.

Our car roared down the driveway and the sirens wailed above us. "This is like a real action movie car chase scene!" Leo whisper-shouted. "Why am I so excited but so terrified at the same time? I love it!"

"I don't know, but I am too!" Nico hissed. "And I don't like this feeling!"

I craned my neck to look behind us, but I couldn't see past the three heads blocking the window. "Is Mom following us? Someone look back there."

"She better be," Thalia said, folding her arms. "So, Annabeth. Can we get a full explanation now? Because Percy didn't tell us much of anything when you sent us in to meet him. Leo, he said you were gay and using pickup lines on boys."

"Uh...what now?" Leo blinked. "I'm...not gay. Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, I'm just not...like, really not..."

Thalia sighed. "Whatever. Annabeth, _explain. Now."_

I groaned. "Okay, fine. But I am not repeating this for Jason and Piper and Mom, so just...I don't know, make a recording and text it to one of them. You have your phone, right?" Thalia nodded, taking out her phone. "Go ahead and start explaining. It's recording already."

And so I sat back and began recounting every last detail that led us to this point.

 **Okay guys, I didn't want to type literally my whole story all over again, so I skipped the explanation. :p. Sorry.**

 **Well, anyways you guys probably didn't want a rewind of everything either.**

Piper POV

We had been driving for maybe ten minutes when Mom said abruptly, "What on earth is going on? Piper? Jason?"

I winced, glancing back at Jason, who cringed slightly and mouthed, 'You explain.' I shook my head at him, mouthing, 'Maybe we should ask Annabeth to explain later.' Jason looked at me with half-lidded eyes. 'No.'

"There's...a lot...to discuss..." I faltered. "So, first of all, Percy. I...don't know much about him, really. You'd have to ask Annabeth for the full story. Well, actually, you'd probably have to ask everyone to piece together the story, 'cause Annabeth wasn't there for the full thing. But anyways, when I went to go find Percy, I found him. In Annabeth's room. So I confronted him, and his jacket got caught on a coat hanger. When he jumped to the side, it was pulled off, and he got really...hostile. So he ran away, and I was chasing him -"

"And I saw both of them run past, but I was too much of an idiot to stop Percy." Jason mumbled. I smiled at him. "It's fine, Jason. At least, this way we know where Percy is."

The car was silent for another few minutes, until Mom prompted, "So? What happened next?"

"Oh, right! Sorry. So I was chasing him, and I ran into Annabeth. She asked me if I had my house key, which I always do, and she wanted me to unlock a door. So I did, and then we saw this creepy message. Jason, can you take out your phone and show her the picture?" I asked. Jason nodded and typed in his password. I continued. "So then, we knew that -"

I was cut off by the car jerking to the side of the road. Mom had swerved to the right in shock at the picture. The bright red of a stop sign loomed closer toward the windshield. I grabbed the wheel and twisted it towards me, praying that I wasn't going to die because my mom crashed our car into a stop sign. Our car bumped and skidded back onto the road, the tires making loud squealing noises. There was a loud thump from behind us and I glanced back, seeing Jason on the floor of the car. "Ow."

"Oh my gods," Mom muttered. "Oh my gods. Oh my gods. Oh my gods. I'm so sorry, Pipes. And Jason. Oh my gods." She kept repeating that over and over, mindlessly following the police car in front of us.

"So - so then we knew that Percy was going to go meet Gabe. Annabeth texted everybody and we all met up in the foyer, where Officer Zhang rang on the doorbell and then...and then this happened. But it's okay. We'll get him back and destroy that jerk Gabe." I reassured.

Just then, the cruiser in front of us took a hard turn. Mom, startled, barely made the turn, and soon enough, our shiny silver Porsche found itself in a dark, dingy-looking neighborhood. The cruiser stopped in front of an old, shabby apartment building and I saw Annabeth rocket out of the car and hurl herself into the building. Thalia, Nico, and Leo called after her, but she didn't come back.

"Wait!" I called, opening the door and tumbling out in a breathless mess. "Where's Annabeth! We have to go -"

"You can go, but I'm staying. My son and his girlfriend cannot stay in our home alone. They're coming here, and I have to be here to meet them. I just have to." Officer Zhang said firmly. She was cut off by an old, beaten-up Cadillac pulling into the road and a slightly babyish-looking, burly Chinese teen and a short African American girl ran out. The girl had frizzy brown hair and warm golden eyes.

"Frank!" Officer Zhang cried. "And Hazel. Are you two okay? You better be. And if you did scratch Grandma's car -"

"It's okay, Mom," the boy - Frank - said calmly. "We're here. And Grandma's...she's...she's back in the hospital. I...I'm sorry, I should've told you on the phone, but you said you were in the middle of something important...and I didn't want to interrupt."

"It was so sudden," the girl - I mean Hazel - said softly. "I...I was so scared for a minute. Frank was in the other room and she just..."

"I know," Officer Zhang said gently. "But right now, I need you two to wait in the lob..." Her voice trailed off as we entered the lobby of the building, which was full of...plump, smoking, disgusting men (and a few women, yes). Everyone shuddered.

"On second thought, come with us," Officer Zhang said uncomfortably. "And...uh...let's go now."

"Wait," a particularly sweaty-looking guy called out. "Are you guys friends of that blonde chick who came by? She said she was looking for a...Percy Jackson?"

"What's it to you?" Thalia retorted, her voice dripping hostility. She was tense and her electric blue eyes were smoldering with anger. "Just let us get up the stairs. We're only visiting."

"'Ey, sweet cheeks, I wanna know, because see, Gabe's a friend. Of all of us. And we ain't lettin' no friends of Gabe's freak spawn come any closer into this building," the sweaty man spat, standing up. In unison, the rest of the fat alcoholics stood up as well.

"Stay close," Officer Zhang instructed, drawing a pistol. "If any of you criminals come a step closer, I will not hesitate to shoot."

"PERCY IS NOT A FREAK!" Thalia, Leo, Nico, Jason, and I exploded. "I WILL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!" Okay, that last part was Thalia.

"Well, guess what, Officer? We don't care. And you crazy kids, Gabe's freak _is_ a freak," another man called. "But hey, trade us the pretty lady and that girl and we'll let you go for free." He gestured to Mom and me. "But you ain't getting 'em back."

"We stay together," Jason and Nico said at the same time. "We are not giving anybody over!" Leo shouted. "Especially not Beauty Queen! Or Older Beauty Queen!"

"Shut up, Repair Boy," I teased, elbowing him playfully. "Excuse me?" Aphrodite asked. " _Older?"_

"All right then, boys!" One of them yelled. "Let's rush 'em!"

The crowd of hygienically challenged males (and one or two females) rushed at us. Officer Zhang tried to fire her pistol, but a particularly large and nasty one yanked it out of her hands and threw it out of the window. I kicked one in the gut and punched another in the face.

And together, we slowly pushed them back until we were standing at the edge of the staircase.

"Okay..." Officer Zhang panted, bending over for a second while catching her breath. "According to my sources, Gabe's old room was on the second floor. Room 224."

I started up the stairs, along with Thalia, Nico, Jason, and Leo, but Frank, Hazel, Officer Zhang, and Mom stayed behind. "Wait," Mom called. "Shouldn't we regroup first? Catch our breath, organize our supplies, you know, that kind of stuff."

"Percy is in danger," Thalia and Nico said through gritted teeth. "The more time we waste, the more time Gabe has to torture him. And maybe even Annabeth! Is that what you want?"

"Alright, I'm coming," Frank and Hazel said simultaneously, coming up to stand with the rest of us kids. Officer Zhang and Mom looked uneasily at one another. "We just don't want you hurt," Mom said calmly. "If something were to happen to you, _any_ of you, then..."

" _Something_ is already happening to Percy and Annabeth!" I snapped. "If you aren't coming with me, I'm fine with that. But I'm going, because this is only wasting time."

I gave Mom a dirty look and wheeled around, marching up the stairs with my head held high. Everyone followed me, and we stopped at Room 224. Officer Zhang unsheathed a small hunting knife from her belt. "This is only for emergencies, don't worry."

"This better not be like Clarisse," Frank murmured. Hazel had her eyes squeezed shut and was probably crushing Frank's hand in a death grip. Her knuckles were practically white, and she was huddled against his side. Frank murmured some comforting words into her ear and Hazel seemed to relax just a bit.

"Who's Clarisse?" I asked Officer Zhang, who winced as if remembering this 'Clarisse' was painful. "Later, Piper. Please."

I kept silent, my hands curling into fists. Thalia pressed a hammer into my hand, and then gave Leo a glass bottle, Nico a baseball bat, Jason a pocket knife, and kept a section of metal pipe for herself.

"Where did you get all this?" I asked, amazed. Thalia grinned. "Those disgusting guys down there had some sweet stuff, eh?"

I looked at my hammer with a whole new light. "Uh, ew. Some sweaty, smelly friend of Gabe's touched this?"

"Hey, it'll do," Thalia shrugged. "Oh, you two." She dropped behind and pressed a golf club into Frank's hands and a sharp piece of tin can into Hazel's. "Just keep safe, okay?"

"Oh - I - thank you," Frank stammered. Hazel looked down at her weapon like it was a two-headed iguana or something. "This...I...thank you for being concerned, but I really don't want to use this!"

"You don't have to," Thalia said. "I'll do it for you. But if he comes near you, just hold it up and look threatening. I'll clock him from behind with this." She brandished her metal pipe and grinned.

We both stepped up to the entrance, placing our hands on the doorknob. Thalia looked at me, as if for confirmation, and then turned to everyone else. "Are you guys ready?"

But before we could answer, the sound of a gunshot split the air.

 **Oh no! Guns!**

 **Yikes, I gotta go guys! My mom is coming!**

 **PS - 5061 words this time. ;) I MADE THE FIVE THOUSAND MARK AGAIN!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hi guys!**

 **So, thanks so much for getting review numbers up to 128! I never imagined that this story would even get to fifty, much less 100! I'm so grateful to all of you for supporting me!**

 **BTW, I'm changing the rating of this from T to M because of cursing. I mean...well, and I'm really paranoid this is going to get removed. :p**

 **Anyways, I'll make this AN short to make sure I don't give away any spoilers. Sorry!**

 **Also, hope you guys enjoy this!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Percy POV

When Annabeth burst into the room, I screamed.

Well, I screamed from behind the thick cotton gag Gabe had tied around my mouth. It smelled like him, which is to say that it smelled like BO and alcohol and the thick fumes of cigarette smoke. Long, sturdy ropes were lashed around my wrists, tying them together, and then they were knotted tightly around one of the sofa legs.

Annabeth's gray eyes grew wide with horror when she saw me, and she reached towards me, probably hoping that she could untie the ropes and escape while Gabe was, what? Taking a leak? Nope.

"Annabeth, Gabe's right behind you!" I yelled, seeing the shadowy figure stir slightly from where he was pressed against the wall. My warning, however, came a bit late. It sounded more like, "Mmffgrrrfffrrrmmm!" than any kind of intelligible word.

She blinked a few times and came closer, bending down to untie the ropes when she froze, her gray eyes widening and meeting my own terrified green ones.

"Move another muscle, girlie, and you get a bullet in your head," Gabe threatened, pressing the cylinder of the gun against Annabeth's skull. I strained at the ropes, eyes wild. Godsdammit no, I would not let him take another one of my family.

"Dude, back off," Annabeth said, her voice displaying the slightest hint of fear but still full of determination. "I'm here for Percy. Just let him go free."

"Well, I paid the price for my toy, didnt' I? Three years in prison," Gabe leered, his small, beady eyes full of contempt. "He's mine now, sweet cheeks."

"You can't _own_ a person!" Annabeth snapped. "Get this gun away from my head right now."

Gabe's finger tightened on the trigger, and I knew immediately that he was going to shoot her. So I did the only logical thing. Well, the only logical thing in that moment.

I rammed my head into Annabeth's stomach, shoving her away and sending her sprawling on the stained carpet. My leg flew up, intending to hit Gabe's head, but he drew back in shock and my foot clipped the hand that was holding the gun, making the muzzle point down towards my chest.

And then the finger on that trigger pushed down with a click and a bang that left my ears ringing, and a screaming pain richocheted through my body as the scarlet stain bled onto my shirt.

My green eyes went wide with shock and Gabe's shaking hand dropped the gun on the carpet. On the floor, Annabeth's whole body tensed and she half-crawled, half-teleported over to me, cradling me in her arms and burying her head in the crook of my neck.

"Percy. Oh my gods. He shot you. Can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?" Words spilled out of her mouth, tumbling over each other until all I could hear was an indistinct fuzz and ringing and...why was it so hard to think?

Groaning in pain, I looked up at her, her gray eyes that I found so fascinating. Gray loomed over my whole field of vision, coloring everything the shade of Annabeth's eyes. Everything was gray and gray and gray and...

"Percy?" Her voice slipped in and out of the buzzing filling my ears. "Percy? Can you hear me?"

I murmured something, but everything was beginning to go black. Something was tightening on my hand, I thought dazedly. Why was something on my hand? Was I wearing some sort of glove? Why was the world spinning? When had the stars come down to earth to dance in front of my eyes...

"Stay with me, Percy! Oh, come on, just stay awake! Please, please, please. The ambulance is coming. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay." Annabeth said hysterically from above me. I blinked sleepily at her. The pain was gone, and the spiraling white stars were twirling around her face in some sort of elaborate dance routine.

"Doesn't...hurt," I forced out, trying to reassure her. The whole world was fading in and out of a blank grayness, but the pain was gone. "I'll...okay. Be...fine."

"Oh my gods. You're not going to die," Annabeth ordered, although I could tell she was either going to cry or punch something, multiple times. "You're not going to die, it's okay. I've got you. You'll be okay. You won't die. I promise."

From this point on, everything was blurry, although I do faintly remember trying to smile up at her and reassure that I'd be fine, I was just bleeding and it'd be gone in a few seconds. And besides, she could get over it if I died.

I'm not even sure if I said the last part, but all I know is that after I said something, she burst into tears and held me closer to her, her blonde curls draping over my cheek and hiding our faces from view.

And then everything went black and the last traces of her voice still echoing in my ears slipped into the ringing and buzzing and I was alone.

 **I bet you all hate me right now.**

Annabeth POV (this chapter is going to focus on PERCABETH)

As soon as I saw the crimson blossom across Percy's chest, I knew that a gunshot had gone off.

I mean, I had tons of clues. My ears were ringing from the bang, and Percy had collapsed onto the floor from his position. The gun had fallen out of Gabe's hands. But the main clue was the red.

Propelling myself towards him like a madwoman, I gathered his limp body into my arms, burying my head in his neck. "Percy. Percy. Percy. My gods, he shot you. He shot you. Can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up? Oh my gods, please don't be going into shock. Stay with me. Come on, it'll be okay."

He didn't respond, and I could feel his hand in mine starting to go cold.

"Percy? Percy! Can you hear me? Can you hear me?" I was sobbing at this point, my hand on his tightening into a fist. "Percy!"

The door flew open and everybody else tumbled into the room, immediately taking in Gabe, backing against the wall, me and Percy in the middle of the room, in a pool of blood, and the gun on the floor.

Piper, Jason, and Nico's mouths all dropped into perfect O's. Aphrodite nearly fainted, steadying herself against the wall, and Officer Zhang's face turned as pale as printer paper. A short African American girl with frizzy brown hair gasped and buried her head in a buff Asian guy's chest and both of them hugged each other fiercely.

Thalia, being Thalia, marched over to the gun, scooped it up, and pointed it at Gabe's skull.

"Okay, you *beep woohoo! It's field day for me right now! Anyways, on a scale of one to ten, how cruel is Death to Barbie being? 1 is not cruel, 10 is WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU YOU'RE SO MEAN*, give me one reason why I shouldn't give you a bullet in the skull." Thalia said, her voice like steel.

"I need to punch him first," Leo replied, shoving Thalia aside and punching Gabe right in the nose and then kicking him in the soft spot. Gabe collapsed to the floor, clutching his privates, and Thalia kicked him in the ribs with a crunch.

"Wait. Leo. Give me my pipe," Thalia demanded. Leo grinned in a sort of coldly satisfied way and handed her a hard-looking metal pipe. Thalia bashed it down on Gabe's head and he lost consciousness immediately.

Percy let out a weak groan in my arms, unconsciously flinching away from the loud clang the pipe had made, and then I remembered what was going on, tucking him closer to me, as if my own warmth could seep into his body and save him. "Guys! Call an ambulance r-right now!"

I ignored the way my voice cracked in the middle of the sentence.

Officer Zhang blinked twice and pulled out her radio thing, muttering a bunch of words into it that sounded very official and urgent. I wasn't paying attention, though. Thalia, Nico, Jason, Piper, Leo, and the two other people whose names I didn't know all crouched around me in a huddle.

"Oh my gods. Oh my gods, oh my gods. Oh my gods. Oh my gods. Oh my gods." That was all Piper could say when she saw the blood. "He - he shot Percy. Oh my gods. Oh my gods. Oh my gods, oh my gods."

Jason and Nico both just looked like they'd donated half their blood, chalk-white and dizzy. Well, okay, Nico was _more_ white than usual. Leo knelt down right next to me and circled his fingers around Percy's wrist, cocking his head as if listening intently.

"He's still got a pulse. That's good," Leo said. "But...it's getting weaker. And it's so thready...gods, this isn't good."

Officer Zhang bellowed, "THERE IS A TEENAGE BOY IN HERE WITH A GUNSHOT WOUND IN HIS CHEST! GET THE AMBULANCE HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Three long, painful, tense minutes later, sirens wailed down the street and I could hear thumping footsteps coming up the stairs. Two paramedics burst in carrying a stretcher, and they immediately came over to us and gently lifted Percy onto the stretcher. I didn't want to let go.

Percy stirred slightly and groaned, mumbling some incoherent words and still, even in sleep, twitching away from the hands touching him. My heart broke inside, for a boy who never had the chance to have a childhood.

The paramedics hurried down the stairs, supporting the stretcher between them, and I stood there, frozen, for at least thirty seconds before jolting back to life and sprinting down the stairs after them, Leo hot on my heels.

We burst out of the doors, panting, just in time to see the paramedics loading Percy into the ambulance. Another person, who I'm guessing was an EMT, poked their head out and helped pull Percy in.

"I have to be in there," Leo and I blurted out at the same time. We glanced at each other, blinked, and then rushed towards the ambulance. No time to waste.

"Please, paramedic people, I have to be in here. Please, please, please," I begged, looking up at them with pleading eyes. "Please let me ride in here. Please please please please please please."

"Get in quickly," one paramedic said, hauling Leo and I in and closing the doors. "He's in critical condition. Sorry to break it to you, miss, but your boyfriend may not survive."

I knew that gunshot wounds had a high chance of being fatal, especially in the chest, but hearing a paramedic say that to me was shocking. My hands flew to my mouth and hot tears burned the backs of my eyes.

"Hey," Leo murmured, sidling closer to me and gently patting my back. "He'll be fine."

Biting back tears, I pasted on a smile and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, he'll be okay."

One of the paramedics shone a bright flashlight into Percy's eye and muttered something to the other, who winced sympathetically and said something back. The first paramedic shrugged and pinched Percy's arm.

No response.

The second paramedic winced again, glancing over at Leo and I.

"Yeah, I don't think it's going very well over there," Leo whispered. I nodded again, only this time I didn't want to. I wanted to shut all of this out and say to myself that everything was normal over and over until it was seared into my brain and I'd never believe anything else.

"...only a 3. And no pupil response..." Fragments of sentences floated through the air, piercing my eardrums until I wanted to scream because this wasn't happening, none of this was, I was dreaming, none of this was real.

But it was.

 **You all must really hate me.**

Thalia POV

Piper, Jason, and I raced down the stairs, followed closely by Nico, Frank, and Hazel. By the time we burst out of the doors, stepping over the unconscious bodies of Gabe's friends, the ambulance was already tearing down the street. Officer Zhang, Frank, Hazel, and Nico all tumbled out of the door, breathless, only a few seconds later.

"Get in my car!" Officer Zhang yelled, ripping the door open and unlocking the other doors at the push of a button. "Now!"

I pulled the door open and hurled myself in, squished on all sides by Jason, Piper, Nico, Frank, and Hazel. Mom jumped in, panting, only milliseconds later, and we rocketed down the road as well, Officer Zhang flipping on the sirens as we screeched through the crowded city streets.

"Left!" Piper called from my right side, craning her neck to look through the front windshield. "Turn left! Their tail lights are just -"

Officer Zhang wrenched the wheel to the left and we skidded around the corner. Piper and Jason were thrown onto me, and I fell back against Frank, who was doing his best not to crush Hazel by bracing his elbow against the window.

"Where's Annabeth? And Leo?" Mom asked frantically, scanning all of us kids in the back. "Are they still in the building?"

"I think they're in the ambulance," I said, shrinking into myself. "I can't believe this is happening. Uh, also, did we all forget about Gabe?"

My question went unnoticed as we shot into the parking lot of a hospital. I barely paid any attention to the parking spaces and kicked the door open, leaping out and barreling right through the automatic doors. Piper, Jason, and Nico were right beside me.

"Where's Percy?" I gasped at the first person I saw. Blinking a few times, it took me a few seconds to realize that it was Annabeth, who's gray eyes were red and puffy from crying. Next to her, Leo draped a comforting arm around her shoulders and murmured something in her ear.

"Y-yeah," Annabeth said softly to Leo, a small half-grin spreading across her face. She blinked a few times at my legs before wiping her eyes and looking up at me. "Thals?"

"Where's Percy?" I repeated. Annabeth bit her lip as if trying not to not cry and simply shook her head at me.

"Oh my gods. He's not dead, is he?" Piper asked. Leo shook his head. "No. Well...not yet. That's what they said. They just told us that...well, they have to do surgery to remove the bullet and his lung collapsed and there's a bunch of-of stuff. Plus he lost a lot of blood."

Everyone pretended not to notice that his brown eyes were shining with unshed tears.

Annabeth stood up and ran down the hall, wiping an arm across her eyes and saying something like, "I have to go to the bathroom."

We all exchanged glances. Jason, Frank, Hazel, and Nico all sat down next to Leo, so Piper and I looked at each other, turned back to Annabeth's retreating figure, and raced after her.

"Annabeth?" I called. Annabeth threw a quick glance over her shoulder and sped up, wiping her eyes. Piper nudged me and muttered, "Just follow her into the bathroom."

I pushed myself harder and managed to close a little of the distance between us. Piper grabbed my arm and stopped me. Whipping my head around, I glared at her so hard that I swear her head began to smoke.

"Listen, Thalia. Annabeth told me earlier that she honestly thinks that she likes Percy. _Like likes_ him, so don't say anything stupid or insensitive, okay? Now c'mon, let's go find her." Piper shot off down the hall and through the bathroom door with me close behind.

As soon as we got in, the sound of muffled sobbing echoed throughout the room. Now, if you've ever been in one of those big, roomy public bathrooms, you'll know that the sound inside echoes. A lot.

It was easy for Piper and me to find the source of the sobbing, which was the stall in the very corner, the furthest away from the door. I raised my fist to the door and knocked quietly, and the sobbing abruptly stopped.

"Who's there?" Annabeth's voice asked. Her tone made it clear that she was crying. "Please just go away."

"Annabeth, it's us," I said. "Me and Piper. Please...can you let us come in?"

We waited in silence for a whole minute when the stall door's lock clicked and it swung open, revealing Annabeth. "Hi guys," she muttered. "I...I really don't want to talk right now."

"Hey, it's okay," I said. "You don't have to. I just want you to know that we're here for you."

Annabeth sighed. "Thanks. I just...I feel like this was all my fault, you know? If I had just left him alone that first night...gods, it seems like so long ago. And it was only two days ago. Maybe I should've just let him be and not done anything. Then he'd be okay back at home and he wouldn't be in the - the emergency room with a..." Her voice faltered and dissolved into sobbing.

"It's not your fault," Piper said, pulling Annabeth into a tight hug. "Look, Annabeth, at least this way we can help him. We can help him see that he's not a waste of space, and he's not useless or pathetic or anything like that. We can punish Gabe for what he did."

"Speaking of Gabe...where is he?" Annabeth asked. "I didn't see how you guys dealt with him."

"Oh...shit," I cursed. "I don't even remember. I'm just hoping Officer Zhang handcuffed him or something."

Just then, the bathroom door opened and Officer Zhang stepped in. "Annabeth? Thalia? Piper? Are you in here?"

"Officer Zhang?" I called. "Um, I have a question! Did you capture Gabe or anything? Because we did go there to do that..." I trailed off, watching her with hopeful eyes. Officer Zhang smiled. "I handcuffed him to the sofa leg and sent some of my coworkers down to pick him up. He'll be back in a comfortable, maximum-security jail cell in no time."

"Oh thank the gods," Annabeth breathed, her whole body relaxing. Piper slapped a high-five with me, grinning from ear to ear and showing off her (somehow) perfect teeth.

"So, wait, I didn't quite hear the news. What is going on? Where's Percy? I mean, we saw the boys and Hazel in the lobby, but all they told us was that you guys came over here. They said that Percy was getting surgery for the bullet and everything, but...what?" Mom asked.

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Well - Leo and I managed to get on the ambulance with...with Percy. The paramedics didn't say much, but they told us that Percy - that he lost a lot of blood and that one of his lungs c-collapsed. And...there was a lot more, but I - I don't remember."

That was a lie. A pretty obvious one too, by the way Annabeth refused to meet our eyes and was staring nervously down at the floor. I opened my mouth to say something, but Piper kicked me in the shin and mouthed, 'Not now.'

And can I mention that my shin throbbed for days afterward?

"Oh," Mom said quietly, looking down at the black-and-white patterned tiles herself as if trying to come up with a more fitting answer.

We all stood there in a peaceful (and slightly awkward) silence before Hazel came in. "Hey guys. Uh, so, some guy came out. He said his name was Will, and he was the son of the doctor, but anyways, Percy's apparently been mostly stabilized, although he's still in critical condition, but the bullet's out. Oh, and right now, he's in a coma."

"When did this happen?" I asked, all the new information swirling around my head as I tried to process it. "I mean, when did all of this become real? Why is all of this real? Percy doesn't deserve all that's happened to him. None of this is fair!"

"Thalia, life isn't fair," Annabeth sighed. "I guess we have to live with it and just...make do."

"So, uh, can we get out of the bathroom?" Piper suggested. "Because, well, I don't know about you guys, but this is getting a bit awkward. A place that houses toilets is not exactly the place for a heart-to-heart chat."

I cracked a small smile and led us out of the door. Our little group sat down in the lobby, next to all the boys, and all of us just sat there in nervous silence for a while when a tan, blond-haired boy came in. "Hey! So, uh, are all of you here for Percy Jackson? 'Cause last time I checked, the only girl here was Hazel."

"Yeah," I spoke up. "Uh, we're his foster family -" I indicated Piper, Jason, Leo, Nico, Annabeth, Mom, and me - "and they're our friends." I pointed to Frank, Hazel, and Officer Zhang.

"Okay then. Man, this Percy guy has a lot of people who care about him, huh? Anyways, he's slipped into a coma, but the bullet's out and we're working on stabilizing him and getting him out of critical condition. But the coma he's in is definitely going to stay for a while. You guys can come back to visit tomorrow morning, but for now we'd just like to keep a close eye on him in case something happens, and nothing can get in the way of our doctors in case the worst happens. Also, what's your name?" the blonde boy asked Nico, who blushed a deep red. "Uh, I'm Nico."

He grinned at him. "Will Solace. By the way, you better call me." And with that, he left the room as quickly as he'd come, winking over his shoulder.

Nico turned an even darker shade of red, if that was even possible, and took out a small piece of paper, examining it closely. "I - I thought this was a business card!"

I peered over his shoulder, seeing a hastily scribbled, 'Call me' and a phone number underneath, all in black Sharpie.

"Dude, you got a date?" Jason asked. I slapped him. "No, he got the number of some hot guy. Nico, are you going to call? 'Cause Mr. Will doesn't know your number."

"Guys, I-I really don't know. With all that's happened to Percy, and everything else, it-it's really not my first priority, you know? Maybe after all this is done, and everything's sorted out, but for now -" Nico sighed, suddenly sounding much older than he really was - "I don't think I'm up for any dating."

Everyone was silent after that.

"Well," Hazel said shyly, looking down at her feet, "I don't know Percy at all, but I don't think he'd want you to be all depressed and mopey about it. I think he'd want you to go out with Will and not worry too much. I mean, worrying about Percy is okay, but you can't do it so much that you don't pay attention to yourself."

I looked at Hazel with new respect. The girl was incredibly empathetic. She didn't even know Percy, and still I bet she'd made the right assumption. Nico blinked a few times and then a small grin flitted across his face.

"I have my phone on me."

 **Yay some Solangelo!**

 **So do you hate me less?**

Hazel POV (I know I said I'd focus on PERCABETH, but Solangelo is starting, so I figured why not some adorable Frazel fluff and some extra backstory on the Zhangs plus Hazel?)

This was just like what had happened only a year ago, with Frank's half sister Clarisse. Glancing over at said boyfriend nervously, my gold eyes met Frank's dark ones and he took my hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly and giving me a small smile.

I smiled back at him, but I couldn't stamp down the lingering fear. This...I had the feeling that this was a way to redeem myself. A way to, sort of, save Clarisse, even though I'd been too late. She'd been dead before the ambulance even arrived, from multiple bullet wounds.

But Percy...he was still alive.

"You okay, Hazel?" Frank murmured, pulling me closer to him in a hug. I smiled half heartedly at him, nodding a bit. He looked at me, concerned, and simply said, "You're not. Is it about Clarisse?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. "I know it's silly, but...I thought this could be our chance to redo it. To save her, and save Percy. I...I feel like, we have to prove ourselves, and we failed the first time, but now...we have another chance. Like I said, silly, but...I couldn't help it."

"It's not silly, Hazel. I...I think it's actually right. Maybe this is our second chance," Frank offered shyly, his cheeks turning a shade of pink close to the color of roses. Next to me, Annabeth cleared her throat a little, tapping my shoulder lightly.

"Um, I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but...who is Clarisse? I...er, I just overheard your conversation - I'm sorry, really - and, well, I just wanted to know! So...who is she? And you don't have to tell me," she added, seeing my expression. "I...I'm just curious. Uh, also, I didn't catch your names?"

I glanced at Frank, who shrugged, and then back at Annabeth, who was looking at me with the faintest glimmer of hope in her eyes. And then I realized that those gray eyes needed more hope, and the story I was going to tell was only going to erase that little sparkle.

"Okay. I'm Hazel, and this is my boyfriend Frank. Uh, you're Annabeth, right? So, don't take this personally, but I saw the tiniest bit of hope in your eyes. I...Clarisse's story isn't going to inspire any hope in you. It's just going to crush what little you have left. So...I swear on the River Styx that I will tell you, but after Percy wakes up. And he _will,_ believe me." The last part was as firm as stone.

Annabeth gave me a small smile. "Yeah, I'm Annabeth. Don't worry. I get it. But you remember that you owe me a story, missy!" I giggled, and for a second, we were just two kind-of-friends joking and chatting together, and then that moment was gone and the severity of the situation seemed to set a million pounds on Annabeth's shoulders again.

"Hey...um...Annabeth, are you okay?" I asked hesitantly, leaning a bit closer to her. "You...you seem...sad. I mean, duh, everyone's sad, and scared, and stuff, except for Nico, but he's calling Will, so that makes sense. But...uh, you okay?"

Annabeth sighed, and the sound of it made me feel like I should expect to see wrinkles on her forehead and streaks of white in her blonde hair. "Well...yes and no. I know that I shouldn't be worrying so so much, but I feel like...if I don't, I'm betraying Percy somehow. Know what I mean?"

"I...well, not really. I'm not going to pretend to understand something I don't. But...you can keep talking if you want. I know we jut met, but...I feel as if we were close...in another world, maybe." I blurted out the last part without really thinking, and of course began mentally scolding myself. Gods, that sounded so stupid!

Annabeth gave me a small smile. "Yeah, I get that feeling too."

We were silent again for a little bit, but it wasn't an awkward or uncomfortable silence, or even a tense one, filled with angry words. This silence was the kind that made everyone feel comfortable and happy and wanted.

"So...how exactly are you betraying Percy?" I asked after a little while. "I mean...no one _wants_ someone else to neglect themselves and blame themselves and feel depressed and cut and stuff over them, just because they're in danger or...or d-dead. I don't think he's any different. And he's not going to die."

Annabeth bit her lip as if trying not to cry. "Someone should've told that to him. Maybe all of this could've been avoided."

I could sense that pushing any further was going to make Annabeth either start to cry or explode at me like, 'You don't even know him! Why do you care?' or something along those lines. So I was silent again, until Annabeth took a deep breath and muttered, "His mom died. Murdered, actually. By the guy who shot him. His s-stepfather.

Her lower lip trembled slightly and her gray eyes were watery as an ocean, but she managed to hold the tears in. "Um, that was when he was five. H-he was abused until he was nine, because he - he ran away, and he was d-disowned by his biological father because the father said that he was too w-weak, which he is _not_." Annabeth no longer looked like she wanted to cry. She looked like she wanted to punch something several times and then burn it to ashes.

"Yeah," I agreed. "From what I've heard and what's going on...well, it's a miracle he hasn't committed suicide already."

Annabeth winced. "Well...you haven't actually heard the whole story yet. That's honestly just the tip of the iceberg."

I drew back. "Uh, isn't that the end? You guys found him on the streets and took him in and yay! Happiness and rainbows and butterflies and stuff? You know...that's not what happened, is it?"

She sighed for probably the millionth time. "No. He was found by Social Services when he was fourteen, and they dropped him into tons of foster homes. He went to...I think it was six or eight, and we were either the seventh or the ninth. In _two years._ And...well, he has an anxiety disorder or something, but basically he has panic attacks. And PTSD, which I think is pretty normal for someone like him. Uh, he's also ADHD and dyslexic, and I'm pretty sure he's depressed. So...yeah."

"Gods. That...no one should have to go through something like that," I said. "That's...especially not someone who is...wait, how old is he?"

Annabeth stifled a laugh. "Sixteen."

"Okay, let me start my angry rant again. Gods. That...no one should have to go through something like that. That's...especially not someone who's sixteen!" Now, I know that the situation was serious. But I figured, These guys have had enough action and drama and tragedy for one day. Time for some joking around!

Annabeth giggled. "Oh gods. Why am I laughing? I shouldn't be laughing, there's a crisis happen-"

"Annabeth, stop," I interrupted. "It's serious, but you still have to keep your spirits up. You can't spend all this time just worrying and not eating or sleeping or having fun. When Percy wakes up, and he _will,_ he's not going to need someone who's crying all the time and so skinny they look like a stick. He'll probably heal best with someone who can make him feel like he's not a lost cause. If he wakes up and you're crying at his bedside, he'll think, 'Oh no! I'm going to die!' And then, he's most likely going to die." I paused for a moment to see Annabeth's reaction, which, to my surprise, was a small smile.

"Hazel, why have I never met you before?" she asked, grinning. I shrugged. "The Fates are cruel, I guess."

"Hey, wait...you said something earlier. Swearing on the River Styx?" Annabeth's smile grew larger when I nodded. "Greek mythology River Styx?"

"Well, is there another?" I shrugged. Annabeth seemed to think for a moment. "I don't think so."

 **I actually researched the River Styx and all the medical stuff about collapsed lungs and stuff, and the coma scales and everything, so I'm hoping most of this is accurate. If it's not, review or PM me and I'll fix it!**

"Okay, so...what was it about swearing on the River Styx?" I asked. Annabeth grinned happily at me. "Jason and Piper and Thalia and all of us do it. We're pretty much Greek mythology buffs. And I actually believe in them, because...well, because I do."

I shrugged. "I prefer the Roman gods, actually, but the Greeks are cool. I've got a friend named Reyna who's seriously in love with the Roman gods. I swear she is. And I like too sort of believe in both, because they're kind of the same, just different names and slightly different personalities. You know?"

Annabeth tilted her head. "Yeah, I suppose they are. Anyways, I've actually got to go to the bathroom, sorry to cut this short!"

She stood up and did that little walk people do whenever they have to go, and I turned back to Frank. "So...about Clarisse..."

Frank smiled slightly. "Yeah, I think this might be our second chance, Hazelnut."

Thalia plopped down next to us. "Hey, guys. Uh, where's Annabeth?"

"She went to the bathroom. She actually went, okay? She's not going in there to be depressed and stuff," I reassured her. Thalia nodded. "Good. By the way, Nico's date is actually going to happen."

"Thalia, stop spreading the news!" Nico called from where he was sitting with Jason and Leo. "I've already told people! And I bet Will's told people too, and godsdammit this is actually getting embarrassing why did I call?"

"That hurts," Will's head popped into the room.

Nico turned red again. "Uh, I - I didn't actually mean it...well I kind of did, but it's not embarrassing because of you, it's because I've never actually been on a date with a guy, and..."

"Reminds me of you when you first asked me," I whispered to Frank. He blushed. "Yeah, well, my mom isn't the type to teach me how to be smooth and stuff! More of how to vault out of a window and draw a gun when a robber breaks into McDonald's as you and your girlfriend are having a Coke. Or something."

"Aw, don't be embarrassed. That's one of the reasons why I love you, Frank." I teased. "Also, have we ever been to McDonald's? As a couple?"

"Anyways," Will continued, oblivious to mine and Frank's whispered conversation, "My dad wanted me to tell you guys that Percy's been completely stabilized now, and he should make it through the night, but we have several doctors just keeping an eye on him. Uh, if you don't mind, what exactly happened?"

"It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Nico asked dryly. "He got shot."

"No shit, Sherlock," Will rolled his eyes. "Like, _why_ did he get shot?"

Everyone exchanged glances before Piper said, "His stepfather. He shot Percy. I'm not even sure if he meant to...Annabeth's the only one who knows."

And then everyone looked at Annabeth, who had just returned from the bathroom without doing the I-need-to-pee dance.

"What?" she asked, obviously confused by our reaction to her. "Uh...are you guys okay? Do I have toilet paper in my pants?"

Almost everyone laughed at the last remark.

"So...did Gabe mean to shoot Percy?" Jason asked. Annabeth flinched. "N-no. He was going to shoot...me, and then Percy just sort of shoved me out of the way and then the gun was pointed right above his head and then Percy kicked Gabe's hand and the gun went down and then Gabe pulled the trigger and then...then all of this happened." She looked like she wanted to cry again.

I stood up, along with Piper and Thalia, and immediately went over to Annabeth. "None of this is your fault, okay? Listen, he made the choice and he decided that yes, he cares about you enough to sacrifice himself." I soothed.

"Plus, this totally means he likes you," Piper winked. "So when he wakes up, make sure to ask him out."

Annabeth smiled in a way that seemed both happy and sorrowful. "Thanks, guys. I...I just hope he _does_ wake up."

"He will," Thalia said forcefully. "He will."

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Leo POV (I've done, like, two Leo's. I've gotta do more...)

When we got home, six hours after Percy and been shot, everyone was too tired to say anything. Hazel, Frank, and Officer Zhang had gone back to their home, which we learned was only a couple blocks from ours.

Mom said nothing, only retreated to her room, and the rest of us kids all lay in our beds, sleepless, as the seconds ticked by.

Eventually, my ADHD got the better of me (by eventually, I mean in three minutes) and I got up, intending to get a glass of water. Or, okay, maybe I wanted to mess around with the stuff in the kitchen cabinets and see if I could either make a sleeping potion or explode something, but that's not the point.

Halfway down the stairs, I bumped into Annabeth, who gave me a small smile and murmured, "Everyone's in the kitchen. We're just talking and stuff. I'm just going to get my phone. Left it in my room."

I smiled back. "Yeah, I figured that no one would be able to sleep. Been a busy day, huh?"

"Yup," Annabeth's smile faded and she hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

I padded into the kitchen, seeing everyone except for Mom (who was probably doing online shopping to relieve her stress) gathered around the kitchen table. Nico had his phone out and he was typing something that caused Thalia and Piper to laugh.

Jason peered over Nico's shoulder and then quickly reached down, adding something else. Nico elbowed him in the chest and whisper-shouted, "Jason Grace, you are not going to do this to -"

"I sent it!" Piper sang, tapping Nico's phone screen. She was obviously pleased with herself. Nico turned red for about the millionth time today and then furiously texted something else. Thalia slapped his hand. "No, Nico. Bad boy."

"Hey, guys," I muttered, sliding into a seat with a cup of water. "What's up? And Nico, who're you texting?"

"Will," Nico said, turning even redder. "Well, apparently his dad is working late tonight, you know, just making sure Percy stays stabilized, so Will's gone home by himself and he's just...oh my gods Jason! Why did you send that?"

Jason snorted. "Hey, now you have a date."

"But...I met him today!" Nico exploded. Quietly, of course, to make sure we didn't let Mom know we were all down here. "Literally today!"

"Technically, you met him yesterday," Annabeth pointed out, sitting down beside me and looking at her phone. "It's one in the morning."

"I don't care!" Nico threw his hands up. "But now I can't say no, because _a certain someone_ named Jason Grace asked Will out! Identity theft! Go to jail, right now! I'll get the Monopoly board!"

Piper giggled. "I sent it though."

Jason grinned. "Hey, Starbucks isn't even that far away."

Nico put his head in his hands. "Jason. This. Is. My. First. Date."

"Exactly, Death Boy. You need to get out more," Thalia teased. "Oh, and while you're there, can you get something for me?"

"Ughhhhhh," Nico groaned.

"Have fun on your date!" Piper trilled. "I can't wait to hear all about it."

"I'm telling none of you anything," Nico pouted. "You stole my identity, and then you set me up a date WHILE I WAS IN THE ROOM, and now you want to hear about the date _you_ set up for me? I don't even know why I don't just run away from here now."

"That's mean," Annabeth laughed. "Well then, I'll just make sure Mom gives me your share of the bacon. Go ahead now. Run away. Shoo."

"You evil, evil, human being," Nico muttered.

And, as we laughed and talked and joked through the night, it almost seemed as if everything had gone back to normal.

 **Yay! Family bonding...without Percy. But there'll be plenty of time for more bonding!**

Percy POV (yes I know he's in a coma)

I woke up to a misty version of Central Park, complete with that prickly feeling on the back of your neck that you get when you feel like you're being watched, bare trees that looked like gnarled hands reaching out for your soul, and...well, you get the gist. It was creepy.

Groaning, I sat up from my position on a metal bench, squinting into the smoky air. Where was I? This wasn't where I was when I fell asleep, was it? Was I dreaming? What was the last thing I remembered?

Closing my eyes and pacing through the park, I sifted through my memories before a blinding headache took over my brain. The last thing I remembered...

Pain.

Gun.

Red.

Gray.

Screams.

Tears.

Stumbling backwards and pressing two fingers to my temples, I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, blurred images whizzing through my mind at lightning speed and high-pitched buzzing sounding in my ears.

What was going on?

"That's a good question, Perseus," a voice answered. I jerked backwards, eyes flying open, and my shins backed into the same bench I had woken up on. Toppling over onto the bench, I quickly sat up again, searching the park for whoever had said something.

"Where the heck am I?" I demanded, the headache subsiding until it was just a dull ache. "Why am I here? And why the frick can't I remember anything?"

"Patience," the voice purred. "It will all be explained in time."

"I don't want it to be explained in time, I want it to be explained now!" I shouted, standing up angrily. "Okay, Voice Guy, I'm just going to tell you what's going on here. The last thing I remember is _nothing._ All I know about myself is my name and how old I am. I wake up in a weird park, full of mist, trying to remember something, and all I get is a headache. Then, a mysterious voice starts talking to me out of the blue, and it won't say _anything_ useful. So if you would please tell me _one thing,_ then maybe I'll actually have a clue about who the hell I am!"

The voice was silent after that, leaving me to shout strings of curses at nothing but mist.

After a while, I gave myself up to my ADHD...wow. Looks like it will be explained in time. I have ADHD. And the stupid voice guy didn't even bother to tell me that.

"Thanks a lot, Voice Guy!" I yelled.

No response.

Pacing through the park, I willed myself to remember something, _anything,_ and then I did.

There had been a gun...I closed my eyes tighter, straining myself to remember. Guns...no, just one gun, and then it had fired and wet, sticky crimson had covered my shirt...

My eyes flew open and I looked down, unzipping my jacket and throwing it onto the bench and...

When I caught sight of my arms, my whole life came flooding back to me like a tidal wave. Gabe and my mom and the panic attacks and my real dad and the streets and the foster homes and Annabeth and Leo and Piper and Jason and everyone else and the message on the wall and...

"Hey, Voice Guy?" I called. "Sorry about earlier. Uh, what were you going to say to me?"

Nothing.

"Like, I'm sincerely sorry! I wanted to know, you know, who the hell I was, and then you wouldn't say anything!" I shouted.

When the voice spoke again, I could swear that I heard it roll its eyes. If it had any, but whatever.

"Well, I suppose I have to carry out my duties. Perseus Jackson, as I guess you know, you were shot by your stepfather, sent to the hospital, and you're about to die. I'm here to give you a choice." It paused, as if for dramatic effect, before continuing. "Two different paths lie before you. One is simple death, quick and painless. You will not suffer any more. Nothing, for eternity."

Again, a dramatic pause.

"And...uh, the second choice?" I prompted, pulling my jacket back on and sitting down.

"You go back to the world of the living. Suffering, pain, and betrayal await you, but at the end of the road lies love and happiness."

 **I now interrupt this chapter to bring you...guess the song! Okay, this is just too perfect for me to ignore. 'The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell, right to the top.' Guess it!**

A shadowy figure suddenly appeared in front of me, but it was too vague for me to figure out what gender it was. "You have three minutes, or I'm just taking your soul down and killing you."

I gulped. "Um...okay, first, who are you? Do you really have the power to kill me?"

The figure stepped closer, and my jaw nearly hit the floor.

Because instead of one head, he - and yes, I knew it was a he - had _two._

 **BET YOU ALL CAN GUESS WHO THE GUY IS! VOICE GUY, I MEAN!**

 **Okay guys. Do you want to know how many hours of research went into the medical stuff on this chapter?**

 **Three. Three hours of staring at a computer and googling stuff about gunshot wounds and collapsed lungs and comas and how to treat gunshot wounds and...stuff.**

 **My eyes are still burning, because I typed up almost the whole chapter right after researching, because I was afraid I wouldn't remember the research. Anyways, I haven't been doing many review responses, so I'm gonna do a few now.**

 **To the guest that threatened my goldfish: I don't have any goldfish. Can't say more than that, or spoilers. Uh, also, why eight of my goldfish? I mean, you made me laugh, but...oddly specific number there.**

 **To Tori Chase: WILL'S HERE! And Solangelo is happening. Also, thanks for complimenting me (for, like, the millionth time but every time it still makes me smile). Yeah, Aphrodite is like that. She's just not my favorite, I suppose. Piper didn't have to work on the ship name. uncle rick did it for her. Nico and Hazel I tried to make in character. Anyways, thanks for everything!**

 **To TheWayToCampLegacy: Hope I spelled your name right! Anyways, Emily's gonna be fine, don't worry. I think that she deserves some more time to be recognized as a character, so she'll be kind of like Aphrodite. There, but not there. I probably won't do any of her POV, but she will be a character that does stuff, you know? And I'll try and expand on her character a little more, and probably expand on Aphrodite's too. Tristan...well, maybe I'll just make him shoot a film for, like, two years. :p. Can't really incorporate him into the story now, can I? Well, I'll try...but it may not work.**

 **To Crystal Collision: I won't murder Gabe, because...well, it's a surprise. The Percy in the ANs is canon, and you better get writing on that little crack chapter! Plus, Percy's here now!**

 **Percy: Aw, my mom says thanks! Also...just a quick question, how do you know what Elysium tastes like? *gasp* ARE YOU A DEMIGOD?! DID YOU TAKE A BITE OUT OF ELYSIUM?! HOW WOULD YOU EVEN DO THAT THOUGH?!**

 **To Death Fury: Thanks! And...well, I just don't like Aphrodite POV, okay?**

 **To irenechon2005: Yeah, cliffies are fun to write but torturous to read. Thanks, too!**

 **To AvaIsAwesome: Sorry...Percy got shot...don't hate me...please don't...I SHALL PUT PERCABETH FLUFF IN NEXT CHAPTER! I PROMISE!**

 **To Kyliefel: THANKS! Don't worry, this isn't me pushing myself.**

 **And finally, to Percabeth824: PERCABETH kisses will happen, in maybe a few chapters. I don't really know. But thanks!**

 **And to everyone else, thanks for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, whatever! Love you all!**

 **PS, this whole document, including ANs, is...*trumpet fanfare* JUST OVER 8000 WORDS!**

 **Mind. Blown.**


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